French Love
by Mascalzone Latino
Summary: COMPLETED! Who knew where an item of women's lingerie would lead him? A La Résistance fic which is also my first one so please go easy on me.
1. Mystery

_    Author's note: I don't own any of the WWE superstars; they belong to Vince McMahon. Any other characters belong to me. I am writing this merely for pleasure, not profit. If you sue me, you won't get a lot. Also, please go easy on me - this is my first WWE fanfic. 
_    René Dupree looked at the pile of clothing that graced his hotel bed in disgust and muttered a few French expletives.     "Stupid Americans," he muttered under his breath as he picked up a piece of women's lingerie, wondering what the hell he was going to do with the misplaced laundry.     The item of lingerie he held was white, soft to the touch and had a delicate peach fragrance. It looked as if any rough treatment to it would damage it.     "Not peach, René. Pêche," he reminded himself in his native tongue as he breathed in the fragrance of the fabric conditioner which had been used, holding it close to his face.     Adjusting his knit boxer shorts with his other hand, René walked over to the window and sat on the window sill.     One foot was on the carpet, the other on the window sill. He stared out of the window, looking at the people below but not looking at the people below. They were moving about, doing their daily routines, seeing friends, going to work, shopping … yet, he remained in his hotel room. He wanted to be out with the people yet he wanted to be by himself.     He wanted to be with her.     He hadn't laid his eyes on her yet he wanted to be with her. He didn't know if that sounded strange or not. How could it be possible to want to be with someone if you've never seen them before?     He was in love with a stranger.     He tore his glance away from the window to look at what resided in his hand. It seemed to be super glued to his hand. He held it to his cheek, drinking in the softness and peach fragrance, keeping an ear out for a knock on the door, possibly coming from his mystery woman. The woman who already had a grip on his heart. He was thinking in French and English, but felt more comfortable thinking in French. Bringing his hand down, he rested the mysterious item on his thigh and gently traced one of the many patterns that adorned it, wondering what it would be like to do that if she was wearing it. The thought made him grin.     René didn't know Sylvan had re-entered the room until he felt him tap his shoulder, motioning towards what rested on his thigh.     "You're not planning on wrestling in that tonight, are you? Remember, you have class."     "This is class. It's French," he responded, motioning towards the lingerie. French and utterly gorgeous.     He stretched a little before getting off the window sill and glancing at his tag team partner.     "Are you going to tell me how you got that or do I have to force it out of you?"     René scratched his head with one hand, the other still holding the bra.     "In my own time, Sylvan. In my own sweet time."     "Oh, no, you don't. Not so fast. You aren't going anywhere until you tell me how you managed to obtain … that."     René sighed and shrugged his shoulders before looking at Sylvan, who wore a sort of cheeky look on his face.     "That happened to be in my laundry bag."     He wasn't at all surprised when Sylvan laughed.     "In your laundry bag? Gee, René, I've heard some storied in the past but that one - how do they say it? - takes the cake. In your laundry bag?"     "It's not my fault these Americans can't deliver laundry to the right hotel room, now, is it?"     Sylvan chuckled before replying, making René seriously consider slapping him.     "So, let me get this straight. You got some woman's laundry - lingerie - and she has your wrestling attire?"     René nodded.     "Have you got it back yet?     "No. But I'm sure I'll get it back. I have a little insurance policy."     "Insurance policy?"     René indicated the bra he held.     "This. If she wants this back, she'll have to come to me to get it, won't she?" 


	2. Sensual Distraction

_    Author's note: I use International English, not American, which will explain why some words appear to be spelt wrong. Any speech from now on that is italicised means they are speaking in French. Also, many thanks to Ellectra and Shadow for reviewing the first chapter - very much appreciated!  
  

_     René could see the cogs in Sylvan's head working overtime as he digested what René had just told him. His insurance policy, to ensure he got to meet this mystery woman, was to hold one of her bras captive.     _"Yes, I suppose she will. You're a sly little one, aren't you?"_     _"You're the sly one, Sly. I'm arrogant."_     Sylvan chuckled to himself as René headed towards the bathroom, with the intention of having a long, hot shower. He knew there wasn't enough hot water left for René to have his usual long, hot shower and he also knew that a long line of expletives -in French - would soon be heard. True to his word, René delivered. He smiled, his dimples making their presence felt.     René re-entered the main part of the hotel room, a towel wrapped around his waist, water dripping off him onto the floor. He was clearly annoyed with his tag team partner.     _"You did that on purpose, did you not?"_     _"Yep. You should know me well enough by now. Consider it an initiation."_     René didn't want to consider anything apart from thinking of a safe way to kill Sylvan and neatly dispose of his body yet be able to find someone who resembled him in order to wrestle that night.     Throwing the towel to one side, he hunted through some of his gear to find some _suitable_ clothes to wear to the arena. His _La Résistance_ attire (Sylvan's extras) was in a bag, all ready to go so it was a simple thing for him to slip his feet into a pair of shoes, pick up the bag and make his way to the arena.     He tried to think about their match with the Dudley Boyz but his mind constantly wandered. Wandered to the bra hidden under his pillow and to its mysterious owner. Hopefully, Sylvan hadn't discovered its hiding place.     It was René Dupree that entered the dressing room, joking with some of the other superstars in the locker room but it was La Résistance who left it, strutting their stuff, looking down their noses at the other superstars, telling them _"N'ayez pas peur"_, showing off their chests to anyone brave enough to look at them, arrogance oozing from every pore.     Making sure his robe and beret were in place, René picked up the French flag and practised waving it around for a few seconds while he waited for his partner in crime.     A few seconds later, their entrance music began to play and, as they entered the arena to walk to the ring, the crowd gave them a raspberry. None of this perturbed René and Sylvan - they still had their smiles on their faces, René waving the French flag (the Tricolour) around, the tag team championship belts resting where they belonged. Around their waists.     René entered the ring first, still waving the Tricolour around while Sylvan asked for and received two microphones, handing one to René. _    "How are you all tonight, New York?" 
_    René smirked as the crowd gave them yet another raspberry. They were American. What would they understand about the French people?     "Please, please. Honour our French flag and let us sing our national anthem. Please start our music."     They readied themselves to begin singing and the music for _La Marseillaise_ began to play. _    "Allons enfant de la patrie, le jour de gloire est arrivé!" 
_    Apart from the first two lines, they really didn't know the French national anthem and were simply singing whatever came into their heads. As long as it sounded good, and French. That was all that mattered to them.     René was just starting to sing _"Aux armes, citoyens,"_ when the Dudley Boyz pyrotechnics exploded, causing the grin to slip away from his face like ice residing on something hot. His grip on the Tricolour tightened and Sylvan moved to stand beside him.     Bubba Ray and Spike stood at the head of the ramp, armed with microphones of their own, with Spike waving _Old Glory._ Bubba announced that the French national anthem sucked and proposed that the crowd sing the American national anthem after they defeated _those French suckers. _    The crowd warmed to the Dudleys as they walked down the ramp, towards La Résistance. René and Sylvan moved to the side of the ring, keeping an eye on the people who they had given the Tricolour to before kissing each other on the cheek, making certain announcers wonder exactly what they were doing.     It was decided that Sylvan would start the match for La Résistance. As René stood on the apron, he could see some obsessed fan leaning over the safety barrier, looking at what he didn't know. Then he realised she was looking at him or, rather, his butt.     He knew damn well he had a fine looking butt. All those hours working out sure paid off in the form of a fine looking body. He didn't win a bodybuilding competition by eating junk food and doing no exercise.     After sneaking a glance at her, he got himself tagged into the match where he proceeded to take Spike Dudley to task. In her corner, naturally. She could get her cheap American thrills by looking at pure French dynamite.     While he stood, cockily smiling at Spike, Bubba Ray attended to Sylvan and, once he had been thrown out of the ring, focused his attention to René. Unbeknownst to him, D-Von was now in the ring and, as he turned around to do to Bubba what he had done to Spike, he was given the 3D.     With both members of La Résistance stunned, the Dudleys picked up the win and led the crowd in a rendition of the American anthem.     Slowly getting out of the ring after the 3D, René saw the look of disappointment on that obsessed fan's face. He had to pass her on his way back to the locker room and had to smile, inwardly, when he heard her say that as much as she liked his butt on TV, it was better in the flesh, as it were. In French.     It was inevitable that they would argue over who had _lost_ the match for La Résistance. And they would argue in French. Knowing a language apart from English came in handy at times and this was one of them. _    "I can't help it if the fans look at this," René exclaimed, patting his butt.     "She was looking at your butt? You were looking at her! You were distracted by looking at her. Therefore, it's your fault we lost. You were distracted by looking at an American, no less."     "Okay. If you want me to admit that it was my fault we lost. I admit it. But she wasn't to blame." 
_    The angry look on Sylvan's face disappeared as he realised precisely what René was trying to say in a roundabout way. _    "Mystery woman's bra distracted you, hmm?"     "Something like that. Something like that." 
_    After showering, René and Sylvan headed back to their hotel room, only to be greeted by someone playing their music somewhat loud nearby. Credit was given where credit was due - it was their entrance music - so they decided not to take them to task over it.     While René looked at himself in the mirror, half expecting it to say something along the lines of "You are the fairest one of all", Sylvan decided to go looking for the mystery woman's bra, the item that had cost them their match. In almost no time at all, he had found it. _    "René, René, René, you could at least think of another hiding place for this, you 
_know," Sylvan remarked, flinging the bra at René. He almost, _almost,_ looked horrified that Sly had found it. But he reasoned to himself that there weren't exactly too many hiding places for a bra in a hotel room currently occupied by men. Occupied by the WWE World Tag Team Champions. _    "On her, for example?" 
_    Did he really say what he thought he said? The cheeky grin on Sylvan's face told him he did. _    "I suppose so. It would look better on her than it would on me. She'd have the body for it."     "True. Still, it's a nice piece of work. You're going to regret handing it back to her."     "If she's not American, I will. Besides, it's French. It's more than a piece of work. It's … gorgeous." 
_    A distraction in the form of white, soft, peach smelling, sensual French lingerie. Who would've thought it would cost La Résistance a match? Who would've thought it would get under René Dupree's skin? 


	3. The Sweetener

_    "Oh, René, you look lovely this morning!" 
_    Slowly opening an eye to find a somewhat blurry Sylvan looking down at him, René briefly wondered what drugs his tag team partner had taken that morning. He was far too cheerful. _    "What?" 
_    Sylvan tapped the corner of his left eye and cheekily smiled. Whatever it meant, it didn't sound good.     A few minutes later, René's jaw was on the floor, a finger almost absently stroking the corner of his left eye. It was red and swollen and the tell-tale signs of a bruise were beginning to make their presence felt. It hurt a little when he touched it.     No amount of make-up was going to hide the shiner when it emerged.    "Damn those Americans," René muttered under his breath, turning away from the mirror, adjusting the towel wrapped around his waist before sitting on the edge of his bed, deciding on his plan of attack for the day.     The first thing was to get the lingerie returned to its rightful owner, apart from his 'insurance policy'. He had no use for it, after all. After that, he would get himself some breakfast.     Arrogantly telling a staff member that he wished to speak to someone in the hotel hierarchy, René looked at the women entering and leaving the lobby and felt his gaze being drawn to two women, probably younger than himself.     It appeared that they looked somewhat similar with their dark hair and seemingly flawless skin, something that was confirmed moments later when he could clearly see their faces.     Identical twins.     How _lovely. _    Whoever they were, they definitely had a foreign air about them. Definitely not American and probably not Canadian. European maybe?     René looked them up and down as they left the lobby, talking about shopping and doing the usual touristy things, his eyes lingering on their breasts, somewhat racy pictures racing through his mind. They had been speaking in French.     Finally, a senior hotel staff member walked up to René and apologised profusely to him about the clothing mistakenly delivered to his room. As it happened, the person who had his wrestling attire had already been in contact with them about it and plans were in place to exchange the goods.     Waving the manager off with a flick of his hand, René gingerly touched the corner of his left eye before heading out of the hotel, mainly to keep away from Sylvan and to see if he could find the twins.     Several people threw anti-France sentiments in his direction but René shrugged it off. They didn't understand the French people. They didn't understand anything if it wasn't American. They hated things that hated them. That wasn't new.     Two hours later, René returned to his hotel room to find the curtains pulled and the lights off. Sighing wearily, he walked into the bathroom to check his eye and, a few seconds later, felt someone's fingers gently caress his neck.     He turned around and glared at Sylvan, hand in the air, ready to slap him. _    "Thought that would get you going. Looks like your eye's getting worse."     "Tell me something I don't know!"     "Your bed. Look at it." 
_    Pushing Sylvan out of the way, René re-entered the main part of the hotel room and found his La Résistance attire gracing his bed.     His tights, his beret, his robe … yes, it was all there. Complete with a note. Had Sylvan read it? Did he even know it was there? _    "They delivered. Surprising."     "Why surprising?"     "This is America, after all. I had to take time out of my busy schedule to get onto them about my missing attire. I didn't expect to get it back this soon." 
_    His fingers still grasped the note and he secretly wanted Sylvan to leave so he could read it in private. _    "Then you disappeared on me for a while. Where were you, hmm?" 
_    The cheeky grin complete with dimples was on Sylvan's face and René ached to slap it off. _    "I needed to get out of here. I needed to … clear my head." 
_    Sylvan knew René was lying. His cheeky smile changed to a cocky one and he appeared to be winking. _    "A woman, hmm? The owner of the bra, perhaps?"     "Maybe. Maybe not." 
_    René decided 'to hell with it' and pulled out the note, waving it in front of Sylvan's face. _    "Oooooh, a love letter!"     "Hardly." 
_    René opened it and gazed at the girlish handwriting before paying attention to what the handwriting said. _    "I ended up with your wrestling attire instead of my lingerie. I folded it neater than the hotel staff, so hopefully, that will please you. If anything is still missing, you'll let me know somehow." 
_    Folding the note before placing it in a pocket, René smirked and made a quick decision. _    "It was from her."     "The bra owner?" 
_    René nodded. He wasn't going to reveal her name to Sylvan. He wouldn't reveal her name to him until he was good and ready. He smiled arrogantly at Sylvan.     "I'll find out what her name is, seeing that you won't tell me. I'll find out who she is. I'll find out if she's good enough for you." The cocky look on Sylvan's face disappeared and was replaced by one looking equally as arrogant as the one on René's face. _    "Go for it. It's no skin off my nose." 
_    Sylvan, to René's surprise, tapped René's nose. _    "I will. Thank you for the challenge, René. Thank you." 
_    René watched as Sylvan left the room, intending to slam the door but failing miserably. He screwed up his face as he wondered why Sylvan had decided to interfere in his life. He was 19. Old enough to know what he wanted … and what he wanted now was to meet this mystery woman. Maybe ringside tickets to Raw would be the sweetener …     With that in mind, he pulled out a pen and paper, placing the pen in his mouth as he thought about what to write in the note, then smiling as the perfect note formed itself in his head. He put pen to paper and began to write …  
  
    _A/N: Many thank you's go to everyone who has reviewed this story so far - I really appreciate it! If you have any suggestions as to what should happen in the fic, feel free to let me know! And I will put you out of your misery regarding the mystery woman soon ... hopefully! _


	4. Sylvain's Hidden Agenda

_    "What's on the agenda tonight, René?" 
_    René turned his head to look at Sylvan. He had been enjoying listening to the cartoons while resting his eyes. It was typical of Sylvan to do that sort of thing to him. _    "Cartoons. Ice cream. Bed. Why?" 
_    That had been on his agenda for a while. Sitting in bed, eating ice cream while watching cartoons all night. Sometimes, even René Dupree needed to veg out. _    "Some of the guys are going to the hotel's club tonight. I told them we'd go along at some stage."     "What's with this 'we' business?" 
_    René sat up on the bed and scratched his head, waiting for Sylvan to reply. _    "You need a change of scene tonight. You don't have to stay for long. A couple of drinks if you want." 
_    The more René thought about it, the more he decided Sylvan was right. He did need a change of scene. Time out at a club would do the trick. _    "What time?"     "Just whenever you're ready." 
_    René wasn't ready to go until two hours later. Checking his eye again, he picked up his wallet, slipped it into his pocket and followed Sylvan to the club.     He thought his mind was playing tricks on him when he saw the other WWE superstars laugh at him but he reasoned it was because of his eye.     "It's going to be a good one, René," Sylvan remarked, handing him a glass of Coke. "But not as good as you ending up with a certain young lady's underwear."     René cocked his head in agreement and saw some more superstars laugh at him. This time, he knew it wasn't because of his eye. They had overheard Sylvan's last comment.     "A Frenchman ending up with American lingerie? Well, stranger things have happened."     "It was French lingerie. Americans make underwear. We French make lingerie. Sensual lingerie. Lingerie that makes you wonder about the person who owns it, wears it … You know."    René had to straighten that out. He didn't want them getting the wrong end of the stick at all.     "How did you manage to end up with it anyway?"     "It seems the _American_ staff here don't know the difference between Room 286 and Room 268. That's how I ended up with it."     "Did you get your gear back?"     "Everything. She got her lingerie back as well."     No one missed the smirk on René's face. It oozed of evilness. Pure evilness.     "Whatever, René. Whatever."     Sylvan knew the meaning behind René's smirk and took him into a dark corner to speak to him in private. _    "Has she got it all back?"     "All of it apart from the one I 'borrowed'. That's my insurance policy, remember? I want to meet her so I can thank her for looking after my wrestling attire in person."     "So, did you reply to her note?"     "Yes. I was blatantly honest and told her how much I appreciated her taking such good care of my attire and enclosed two ringside tickets for Raw as well." 
_    The cocky look was back on Sylvan's face. _    "I'm sure Leila will appreciate them. And Sophie as well." 
_    The colour drained from René's face. How had Sylvan found out her name? And that of her sister? _    "I did tell you that I would find out who she is. Whether she was good enough for you. If you want my humble opinion about you and Leila, you will have it regardless. She's good enough for you. Hell, she can even teach us the French national anthem!" 
_    René knew it would take some time for the look of dismay to disappear from his face. He also knew he was seriously tempted to fling the contents of his glass in Sylvan's face and had to severely restrain himself from doing so. _    "How did you come across them?"     "As it happened, Leila fell over in front of me at the pool. Her shoes, you see. She's not used to them."     "You expect me to believe that?"     "Believe it if you want. I'm not saying you have to or anything."     "Good, because I don't think I want to believe you at the moment." 
_    Sylvan shrugged and glanced at the far end of the club, where a stage was being set up for the club's karaoke contest later that night. The contest seemed to be quite popular with the WWE stars as several of them had entered. Including René and Sylvan, although they found out that someone had entered them with the probable intention of embarrassing them. _    "Besides, they're really nice. Very friendly and if you play your cards right, we could get French national anthem lessons."     "You live in hope, don't you?"     "No, I live in the know, thank you very much." 
_    René screwed up his face, wincing as his eye hurt again. It was going to be a good one, that much he did know. What he didn't know was how he was going to retaliate and lower himself to American standards in doing so.     "I see you two are in the karaoke contest. Good luck. You'll need it, especially if you're going to treat us to the French national anthem."     "I'm sure we can think of something. Won't we, René?"     "If you say so, Sylvan."     "I do say so."     René stroked his eye and inwardly cringed when he felt how swollen it was since he last looked at it in the mirror. If it got any more swollen, he'd remain in his hotel room, refusing to go anywhere. _    "René, take this piece of advice. Build a bridge and get over it. They'll get their own back someday. When they least expect it. Besides, go out and mingle. I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Look over there." 
_    René looked in the direction that Sylvan was pointing in but couldn't see who or what he was supposed to be looking at. _    "Who or what am I supposed to be looking at? I can't see anything." 
_    To René's chagrin, Sylvan chuckled, his dimples making their presence felt, again making him seriously consider slapping him. _    "How could I forget? You've only got one eye at the moment. Silly me. In that case, allow me to be your eyes for a few seconds …"     "Excuse me?"  
  

___

A/N: The next chapter won't be up until Tuesday (Monday for most of you) at the earliest because I am going away for the weekend to attend a wedding, consequently missing Raw and La Résistance also.


	5. The Karaoke Contest

    René didn't like the way Sylvan was holding his hand - the entire scene looked somewhat dodgy. He tried to retrieve his hand but wasn't successful. He still had no idea where he was being taken, who Sylvan was taking him to see. _    "Sylvan, where are you taking me? And do you realise how dodgy this looks?"     "I couldn't care less about what they think. Remember, they're American. They think we're sissies because of our culture and class."     "That's **my** line!" 
_    A few more steps closer to the stage and René and Sylvan had reached their destination. All René could see in front of him were two brunettes a few centimetres shorter than him.     "Leila, Sophie, thought I'd see you two here! Enjoying yourselves?"     They turned around and René had to fight to suppress a smile. The twins he had been eyeing up earlier in the day. All he had to do now was figure out which one was Leila.     Now that he looked closely at them, it was obvious to figure out which twin was Leila. She was favouring her left ankle, lending support to Sylvan's story that she had fallen over in front of him.     "Stalking us now?"     "As if I would do that! You two are all alone in the big, bad country and you need protecting. Why not let myself and René do the job?"     "I have a black belt in karate. I think that speaks for itself. Besides, you haven't introduced us to your tag team partner but I know who he is already. Blonde over there doesn't."     "In that case, Sophie, René. René, Sophie."     René nodded and smiled a little before trying to discreetly look at Leila's ankle. From what he could see of it, she had done some serious damage to it.     "Did you hear about the karaoke contest? We're in it, not by choice, I might add. Obviously, someone's entered us with the intention of embarrassing us. I don't suppose you two would like to help us."     Leila nodded her agreement and quickly sculled the rest of her Coke.     "I'm good at karaoke. Generally once I've had a few."     "But you're underage," Sylvan exclaimed.     "Hasn't stopped me from drinking before! Besides, I can safely assure you that your eye won't be too bad. Trust me. I gave one to my brother once and he couldn't see out of it for about a week …what?" Leila hissed.     Chris Jericho tapped Leila on her shoulder and handed her a piece of paper.     "Can you make sure those two ass clowns see this?"     Leila nodded and glanced at the piece of paper, biting her lip as she tried not to laugh. She let Sophie have a look at the note before turning to look at René and Sylvan.     "I hope you like your superhero music."     "Superhero music? What do you mean by that?"     "You have to sing Mr America entrance music. Real American."     René and Sylvan looked at each other before looking at Leila, who handed them the piece of paper which said who was singing what song. _René Dupree and Sylvan Grenier - Real American. _    "I don't even know the words to that song! How the hell are we supposed to sing it if we don't know it? I don't suppose you two know it?"     "Luckily for you, we do. I sing it a lot when I'm drunk."     René Dupree and Sylvan Grenier - La Resistance - had to sing Mr America entrance music at the karaoke contest. No wonder they had been entered in the contest without their knowledge! But they, and the two young French girls named Leila and Sophie, knew they had a hidden agenda. With Leila and Sophie helping them, they were certain to do better than what they would normally.     A few minutes later, a general announcement about the karaoke contest was made. It was to start right then and there and the first entry was René and Sylvan.     Trying to act like they were heading to the squared circle and not a stage which they wanted to open up and swallow them whole, René and Sylvan, along with the twins, stood at the microphones, well aware of the looks they were receiving from the other WWE superstars.     As the music started, René felt like he was going to be sick. He couldn't look at the audience, the walls of the club, or the microphones. He looked at the floor, seriously wanting to throw up, but not on Leila. No doubt she would slap him if he did that.  
  
_    I am a real American, Fight for the rights of every man,  
     I am a real American, fight for what's right, fight for your life!  
  
     When it comes crashing down, and it hurts inside,  
    ya' gotta take a stand, it don't help to hide,  
    Well, you hurt my friends, and you hurt my pride,  
    I gotta be a man; I can't let it slide,  
    I am a real American, Fight for the rights of every man,  
    I am a real American, fight for what's right, fight for your life!  
  
     I feel strong about right and wrong,  
    And I don't take trouble for very long,  
    I got something deep inside of me, and courage is the thing that keeps us free,  
    I am a real American, Fight for the rights of every man,  
    I am a real American, fight for what's right, fight for your life!  
  
    Well you hurt my friends, and you hurt my pride,  
     I gotta be a man; I can't let it slide,  
     I am a real American, Fight for the rights of every man,  
    I am a real American, fight for what's right, fight for your life!  
    I am a real American, Fight for the rights of every man,  
    I am a real American, fight for what's right, fight for your life!  
  

_    Afterwards, some of the other WWE superstars walked up to Leila and Sophie.     "You poor, poor girls. Fancy doing karaoke with those French retards. Do you now know that the French and Americans don't mix?"     "You're generalising. Americans don't speak the way I do. Do you know you should get your facts straight? Our surname isn't American. Last time I checked, Marconnet was actually French."     "Oh, so, next thing you'll be telling me is that you're French."     Leila absently reached into her pocket and pulled out her French passport, looking at it briefly before throwing it at Chris Jericho.     "I think I might be. Seeing that my passport does say I was born in Paris and that it's all in French."     Snatching her passport back from Chris Jericho's hands, Leila slid it back into her pocket.     "Tired?"     "Yeah. I think my ankle's even more damaged than what I thought. It's killing me now."     "In that case, I'll help you back to your room."     "If I managed to get around with three broken ribs, I think I can get around on a stuffed ankle!"     "Three broken ribs? How did you get them?"     "Going for my black belt. They were the reason why I gave my brother a killer black eye."     René guessed that meant he'd better not mess with Leila Marconnet. Or her sister. Or maybe her brother.     "Are you sure you can make it back to your room in one piece?"     "Don't fucking start that shit with me! I don't need your help at the moment!"     René held up his hands as if to say, "Whoa, steady on there!" and watched as Leila literally hobbled out of the club and to the bank of lifts. Knowing that she would probably give him another black eye to match his first one, he decided to help her anyway and gave her absolutely no say in the matter at all by simply scooping her into his arms.     "If you don't want your other ankle to hurt as much as your left one, I suggest you don't do anything stupid."     Leila was too shocked to respond. Okay, she might've, _might've_, dreamed about being in René Dupree's arms but now that her dream had become reality … her brain resembled an omelette.     And that was how René Dupree wanted her to feel right then and there …  
  
_A/N: I was writing some of this earlier this morning and was absolutely stuck on what song René and Sylvan could sing then the perfect one came to me - Real American. This is the second version of this particular chapter because when I went to use the replace tool to change Rene to René, Microsoft Works decided to not work temporarily, causing me to lose what I had written. Ah well. Chapter Six is currently forming itself in my head - the best place for it at the moment! _

  



	6. Karaoke Aftermath

    He was dying to know what was going through Leila's mind at the moment. Of course, he did realise that she was probably freaking out inside because he was holding her in his arms. _    "Tell me, Leila. Have you ever been in this position before? Being held in someone's arms?" 
_    With her brain still resembling an omelette, all Leila could do was nod her head. Her ankle was starting to throb a little more and she supposed it was a good thing that René was carrying her. Her ankle probably wouldn't hold her weight for too long.     Reaching her hotel room door, Leila turned her head to look at René. _    "You can put me down now. I can hop to my bed."     "I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing. I've carried you this far. The least I can to is to carry you to your bed. Now, may I please have your key?" 
_    Leila dangled the key from her middle finger, refusing to look at René any more. He inserted it into the lock, opened the door and took in the scene.     Clothes covered just about every surface in the room. It looked as if World War 3 had erupted. _    "How do you manage to find anything in here?"     "Easy. It's a matter of knowing which mess something's under. I'm used to it. You're not, obviously." 
_    What else about him, René Dupree, was obvious to this girl? The fact that he currently didn't want to let her go? The fact that he didn't want to put her on her bed but on his? _    "It will take a little getting used to." 
_    René put Leila on her bed but didn't completely let go of her. He gently held her leg in his hand. _    "If your ankle's worse tomorrow, go and have it checked out. Trust me, you've done some damage to it."     "Let me tell you something. 35 things you should know about men. Number 36 - never trust a man when he says "Trust me". Besides, I don't have female and stupid tattooed on me." 
_    René looked horrified and confused at the same time as he tried to work out the meaning behind what Leila had said. _    "Don't worry. I understand. I think I do."     "Good. Now, can you go? I'm sure you have planning for a future match to do."     "Is that a hint that I've outstayed my welcome?"
_     Leila nodded and René conceded she did have a point. He and Sylvan did have some planning to do for a few matches, one of which he vaguely remembered was against the Hurricane. _    "Okay then. I'll go and check up on your sister. For all we know, Sylvan could be all over Sophie like a rash." 
_    He smiled somewhat cheekily at Leila and left her alone. But he didn't go to see whether Sylvan was all over Sophie like a rash or not.     He trudged back to his room, conveniently down the hallway from Leila's room, and sat on his bed, looking at his La Résistance attire, the tag team belts.     La Résistance were set to defend the belts against the Hurricane and a partner of his choosing the following week. A few minor details still needed to be tweaked on but he knew already what the result of the match would be. And that he would take another beating. Again. It was only fair that Sylvan got treated like shit in the ring every now and then. He was the rookie out of the two of them, after all. Not him. Not René Dupree.     With that thought in mind, he headed back to the bar, where Chris Jericho was treating everyone to his rendition of a very popular song. Being in _Fozzy_ didn't help him at all - René thought he sounded like a strangled cat, not that René knew what a strangled cat sounded like when it was singing. _    "Is she okay?" 
_    As René sauntered back to Sylvan and Sophie, Sylvan threw him the question as if it was the only one he knew. _    "She's fine and leave her sister alone, will you?"     "I'm only protecting her from these big, bad Americans!"     "No, you're not. You're all over her like a rash!" 
_    Sylvan chuckled and disentangled himself from Sophie who clearly looked very relieved.     "I have a feeling that your sister doesn't like being protected."     "Yeah, well, our family mean well but they take it too far sometimes. Stems from the two of us being born early."     In a way, René could understand where Sophie was coming from.     "You make sure she gets to a hospital or something tomorrow. I have a feeling she's done some damage to her ankle."     "What do you expect? My shoes are killers!"     René turned around and found the Hurricane looking at him.     "We have to talk about our match. Some details that need to be attended to."     "It can wait until tomorrow. Cripes, I'm busy here. Can't you see that?"     René pointed in the general direction of Sylvan and Sophie and turned around to find they weren't there. Where had they gone?     "You're busy, alright. Busy looking like a loser standing by himself. I'll get my superhero hat on and find them for you if you would like. That way, you will find you won't have to report to the other twin about her missing sister."     René wondered who had spiked the Hurricane's drink as his invisible superhero hat was placed on his head and he sauntered off to try and find out exactly where Sylvan had taken Sophie. It was highly unlikely that Sophie would've taken Sylvan somewhere. That wasn't her style.     Thinking about the Hurricane's words, René realised that he did look like a loser standing by himself so he decided to mingle with some of the other WWE superstars. They talked to him about a few shows that were coming up and compared various efforts in the karaoke contest to that of La Résistance.     "How much did you have to bribe those twins to sing along with you?"     "Not a thing. We asked if they would like to help us and they said they would. End of story."     Spike Dudley smirked at Rene.     "Expect us to believe that, do you? The fact that you've got the hots for one of the twins is written all over your face."     "Watch it, pipsqueak. If I had the hots for Leila, I wouldn't be as obvious as Sylvan, would I?"     "I suppose not."     René wondered whether he should tell Leila about her missing sister, and the fact that Sylvan had taken her somewhere. In a way, he felt responsible for leaving the two of them alone in the first place.     "Go and tell her sister. She deserves to know."     "Yeah, yeah, you're right. I'll do it now."     After seeing who was treating the crowd to a song, René sneaked out of the club and to the bank of lifts. Upon entering the lift, he stabbed the relevant button and pondered over what to say to Leila.     He knocked on her door and alternatively stood on one leg while waiting for her to open it. He could hear her cursing as she got up from wherever she was.     "What?" Leila barked as she opened the door. Upon realising it was René who stood on the other side of her door, she blushed, pulling her bathrobe around her, not before Rene got a good look and noted that she had no tan lines whatsoever.     "They've gone AWOL. Sophie and Sylvan. The little green twerp is looking for them for me and told me to tell you basically."     Leila cursed under her breath before looking at René.     "Thanks for letting me know. I'll wring her bloody neck when she gets back. Maybe Sylvan's as well but I might leave you with that honour."     René smirked.     "I'm wondering about you, Leila. It appears to me that you have no manners. It's not polite to leave someone out in the hallway like this."     With an air of 'for heaven's sake!', Leila moved away from the door and let René in the room. No matter what she did with her bathrobe, she was still conscious of the fact that she was wearing her birthday suit under it, and the fact that René had been eyeing her up before she closed it. Now, she felt nervous.     René knew it too. She was nervous and that was precisely what he wanted her to feel at the moment...  
  
    _MS Works decided to pack another sad on me earlier when I was typing this up - sometimes it doesn't like me using the Replace tool to change Rene to René so I might have to do it the long way next time. Any suggestions as to where the story should go are very welcome. Many thanks also go to everyone who has reviewed this story - very much appreiciated! _


	7. PlayStation and La Marseillaise Lessons

_    "So what do you do when your sister's gone AWOL?"     "Go on the PS2, surf the net, read, and think of a good way to kill her when she gets back … the usual." 
_    René could see the PS2, all hooked up to the television but he couldn't see any evidence of a computer anywhere. _    "You can go on the PS2 if you want. I think I was playing Muppet Race Mania last so that will probably still be in there." 
_    Leila turned on both the TV and the PS2 and waited for the game to load. Indeed, _Muppet Race Mania_ was still in there. _    "I usually play battle league on this. But first, I have to put in a cheat code to get it open." 
_    Grabbing the controller out of René's hand, Leila pressed the analogue button and entered the cheat code, noting with delight the _Main Courses_ that came up on the screen. _    "I'll even let you be Animal. Use the left stick to turn, L1 and L2 let you fire weapons; R1 and R2 give you a boost and allow you to temporarily stop the other racers so you can cause more damage. Meanwhile, I'll catch up on my email." 
_    Leaving René to crash numerous times and also go around the race track the wrong way, Leila curled up on the chair by the window and booted up her laptop computer. René smiled to himself. Of course, there was no point in taking a PC around when you could take a laptop!     He looked at the laptop and smiled to himself again when he saw the desktop - it was of himself and Sylvan. He wondered if she had made it. _    "How do you manage to win this?"     "Lots of practice. I was like that when I first got the game. I still like it though, especially Animal. He would have to be my favourite Muppet."     "Does Sophie do this a lot? Walk off with strangers?" 
_    Leila rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to respond until her mobile phone began to ring. The ring tone was her national anthem, _La Marseillaise_. _    "You can't, Dad. She's gone AWOL with one of your elder daughter's favourite wrestlers and his tag team partner is in the room with me. René Dupree, Dad. He's in here." 
_    The look on Leila's face told René that she didn't believe what her father was saying.     "_Cripes, I'll put him on the phone, if you don't believe me!" _    Leila held out her cellphone and René took it, purposely making sure his fingers touched her. She jumped, as if she had been burned.     She went back to checking her emails, sending some back to several friends, all the while trying to keep her ankle elevated and her bathrobe closed, although there didn't seem to be much of a reason to do that, seeing that he had seen the fact she had no tan lines at all.     A few minutes later, René handed the cellphone to Leila, taking in the sight of her sprawled out on the chair, a computer on her lap, her left leg elevated and her bathrobe revealing her legs. She looked as if she didn't have a care in the world. _    "Not that it's any of my business but …"     "I can assure you it's not but ask anyway."     "The no tan lines thing. Humour me."     "I go to a nude beach. Hence, no tan lines." 
_    First, it was Sylvan and Sophie sneaking off and now Leila revealing where she got her tan. He never would've thought about that in a million years. _    "Your father sounds like an idiot."     "He is. He let his twin daughters visit the US by themselves, only for them to find themselves mixed up with French wrestlers. Hmm, yeah. I can see why you called him an idiot."     "We're very nice French wrestlers. Naturally."     "You would say that, though. Besides, your tag team partner isn't exactly nice. Taking my sister god knows where!"     "Yeah, well, Green Twerp's onto the case. Not that I asked him to be on it or anything." 
_    Leila's face lit up like a Christmas tree when the song playing on the computer changed to _La Marseillaise_ and she sat up with a big smile on her face. _    "I don't suppose you'd be willing to teach me that while we wait for Sophie and Sylvan?" 
_    Leila looked at René for a few seconds before making up her mind. _    "I'll do it. I have nothing else to do anyway. I'll just set this up to play it repeatedly, pissing off everyone else. Besides, you really need to learn it. You're terrible." 
_    René acknowledged that she was telling the truth - he was terrible at singing the French national anthem. His excuse was that he didn't really know it that well and simply sang whatever came into his head. As long as it sounded good and French. That was the main thing. _    "There's no point in teaching you the first line. You already know that. It's just the rest. Here." 
_    Leila handed René a piece of paper which had the French national anthem on it and told him in no uncertain terms when to start singing. It got to the stage where if Leila looked at him funny, René knew he had stuffed up. _    "You're getting there, slowly but surely."     "True. But you have to give me some degree of credit. I did know the first line. I just didn't know when to start singing it."     "Now you do and you have no excuse for stuffing it up." 
_    Leila was clearly getting worried about her sister now. Sophie hadn't sent a text message or communicated with her sister in any way and she had to restrain herself from biting her rather long fingernails. She reasoned that she needed them to throttle not only Sophie but Sylvan as well.     Her opportunity came a few minutes later. _    "Mademoiselle Leila?" 
_    When she heard Sylvan's voice through the door, she was up on her feet in an instant. Despite the sharp pain in her left ankle, she stormed over to the door and flung it open, with René right behind her. _    "Where the fuck have you been? Have you even stopped to think how worried I was about her? And how I had to explain to our father that he couldn't talk to her because she had gone AWOL?" 
_    Sylvan looked shocked when Leila swore at him but he knew she was very annoyed with him and her sister. _    "It's okay. Sophie's fine. The chemistry between us would've set the club on fire."     "The chemistry?" 
_    Leila had seen how Sylvan had eyed up Sophie earlier in the day when she had fallen over at the hotel pool and that while he felt comfortable doing it, Sophie wasn't comfortable with it. Female she may be, stupid she wasn't. _    "Besides, I should be asking you what you've been doing with my tag team partner. Entertaining him, maybe?" 
_    Leila ached to slap the smile off Sylvan's face. _    "She was entertaining me, actually. I got to speak to her father, she taught me how to play a PlayStation game, even letting me play as her favourite character, and she even taught me the French national anthem. She didn't entertain me in the way it appears you've entertained Sophie." 
_    Sylvan ran his fingers through his hair. _    "Look, you've got the wrong end of the stick. We disappeared simply to talk. We couldn't do it in the club. Everybody would've been looking at us. Your sister is a very good talker."     "That's why she gets into trouble at school - she doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut. Besides, I'll weasel the real reason why you two pulled this disappearing act out of her. I'm good like that. Remember that."
_    Sylvan knew, he knew, Leila wasn't bluffing. The look on her face, even her body language …     _"I'll leave you to help cool this one down, René. She needs it."_     Leila leaped to punch Sylvan but René quickly grabbed her wrists, preventing her from doing so.     _"See what I mean?"_     Leila rolled her eyes as she watched Sylvan saunter back to his room, still wanting to go after him. Rather belatedly, she remembered about her ankle.     Sophie was in the bathroom and would be in there for some time. René decided it would be best for him to leave so Leila and Sophie could argue without an audience.     _"I'll talk to him about this and get his side of the story. You talk to Sophie and get hers. Tomorrow, after you've gone to the hospital to get your ankle checked out, we'll go to a café or something and compare their stories. How does that sound?"_     Leila looked a little shocked and thought about it for a few seconds before giving her agreement.     _"And Leila, remember."_     As she turned around to face René again, he bent down and quickly kissed her.     _"N'ayez pas peur."_     He smiled, not smirked, at Leila before leaving to return to his own room. As he walked, he thought about his impulsive action and realised he wanted to do it again and soon … 


	8. Planning for Leila

    Once René and Sylvan had finished arguing in their room, they could hear Leila and Sophie. Correction - they could hear Leila. She was ripping Sophie to shreds.     It had taken Sylvan some time to tell René his side of the story and René didn't know whether to kill Sylvan now or leave the job to Leila. He would think about it in the morning, which it was technically. It didn't feel like the next day yet because he hadn't slept.     René was asleep within a few seconds of his head hitting the pillow. He didn't dream about the karaoke contest, which would've been the contest from hell if Leila and Sophie didn't help them. He dreamed about Leila.     Sylvan woke early and was content to look at his tag team partner for a few minutes. He had seen the rather smug look on his face after he had left Leila to her own devices.     René was sleeping on his right side, one hand covering his face. The other had flopped over the edge of the bed and Sylvan was seriously tempted to tickle it to see what René would do. He didn't give in to his impulse and left René alone to continue sleeping.     A couple of hours later, René awoke, feeling somewhat better. With thoughts of Leila in his mind, he literally jumped out of the bed and into the bathroom, noting with some delight that Sylvan hadn't used it yet. He could pay him back for all the times he had left him with next to no hot water for his shower!     Waiting for the water to heat up, René looked through his clothes and decided what he was going to ware that day. Whatever he chose, it needed to look good, especially as he and Leila would be going somewhere to talk about his tag team partner and her identical twin.     He hummed _La Marseillaise_ to himself as he showered, still remembering the look on Leila's face as he screwed up her national anthem again and again. She could be quite funny when she wanted to be, even at a time when she was worried sick and had a severely injured ankle.     After drying himself and putting on his clothes, René made his way to the hotel restaurant, where some of the WWE superstars were having breakfast. They were discussing the karaoke contest and who had gained the prized on offer.     "I only put your name down because I knew you wouldn't do it. And you win the thing!" Chris Jericho complained.     "Excuse me?" René looked at Chris, his glass of orange juice halfway to his mouth.     "You and Sylvan and those poor twins won the bloody thing. We picked that song because we knew you would hate it and you end up with a bar tab! Never again! Remember that, people. Never enter René and Sylvan in any karaoke contest again!"     René knocked back his glass of orange juice in quick time and fought to hide the smile he knew would break out on his face. Leila and Sophie had been extremely valuable. He supposed it was a good thing, in a way, that Leila had fallen over in front of his tag team partner. He would never have had the chance to meet her otherwise.     As he turned his attention to the plate in front of him which bore a rather sad looking omelette, and debated whether to stab it with a fork, the Hurricane tapped him on the shoulder.     "Did they show up at all?"     "They did. Supposedly, all they did was talk. We heard Leila tearing Sophie to shreds afterwards. She wasn't too impressed with Sylvan. You know, she nearly punched him?"     "With her dodgy ankle?"     "Her hand, you green twerp. She would've if I hadn't stopped her. But he deserved it."     The Hurricane nodded.     "This probably isn't the time nor the place, but when can the three of us sit down and thrash out those ideas for out match? I'd like to introduce my partner to the two of you then."     René thought about it for a few seconds.     "This afternoon's definitely out. I have a date with Leila - we're … uh … going to compare the stories Sylvan and Sophie told us about where they went last night - but maybe this evening. I'll check it out with Sylvan and let you know. How's that sound?"     The Hurricane nodded in agreement and left to sit with the Dudleys. Bubba was giving René an evil look - there was no love lost between the Dudley Boyz and La Résistance at all - and Spike … well, he was merely being Spike.     "Did anyone hear that stupid cow who was screaming in some language I don't know earlier this morning? What the hell was she on?"     "That was one of the twins, ripping her sister to shreds. Understandable when she and Sylvan had the two of us worried and the green twerp over there went to look for them."     "How did they have you two worried? Realising you don't know the French anthem?"     "I know it now, thank you very much. They disappeared out of the club at some stage during the contest. I told Leila because I felt she had a right to know and while we were waiting for them to show up, she taught me the French anthem."     "And don't you dare give us a rendition of it now. Some of us are eating our breakfast!"     As if René would do that. That wasn't his style at all.     After finishing his breakfast, he wen back to his room, coming across Sylvan as he was leaving it.     _"Did you hear we won the karaoke contest last night?"     "We did?"
_     Sylvan's smile - complete with dimples - was plastered on his face, a welcome sight for René.     _"So I've been told. We won a bar tab so I suppose we have to drink it soon. With Leila and Sophie, of course."     "I think they'd like that. They're not in their room at the moment. Sophie said something about getting Leila's ankle checked out. It didn't look that flash."     "How bad was it?"
_     Sylvan showed René with his fingers and René winced. Leila's ankle had swollen up to twice its normal size. That meant she would probably return with crutches and a cast on her ankle.     _"So they're still on speaking terms?"     "Only after Leila happily admitted to ripping shreds off her sister. Laying down the law, as it were. I take it we are."     "Are what?"     "Still on speaking terms?"     "Well, yeah. We have to arrange a time to go over our match with the Hurricane too. I said sometime this evening."     "That's fine with me. I'll let him know. You ready yourself for when Leila returns, you hear?"
_     René nodded and smiled as Sylvan smiled back before disappearing into a lift. It appeared that all would be forgiven between La Résistance and Leila and Sophie.     With their return in mind, René set about making himself look even more presentable and decided to wait for them outside the hotel, rather than in the hotel lobby.     He had to wait quite some time but eventually, they arrived back. Sophie got out of the taxi first and Leila was slow to emerge.     Little wonder. She was now sporting a blue cast on her ankle, which meant she had to use the crutches Sophie was holding to get around. His heart fell.     _"They wanted to keep me in for the night but I told them no,"_ Leila told René as he stepped forward to help her. _"I like my cast though."_     _"Why's that?"     "Lift the leg of my pants and you'll see."
_     René did as he was told and saw that she did have reason to like her cast - it was in the colours of the Tricolour.     _"This way, they won't forget where you're from, am I right?"_     Leila nodded quite happily and looked even happier when René told her the result of the karaoke contest.     _"A bar tab, eh? I bet you anything you like they won't have a few bottles of a fine Bordeaux red."     "Anything?"     "Anything."
_     Sophie handed Leila the crutches and she took them, obviously not happy about having to use them at all.     _"Are you still feeling up to going to a café?     "To be honest, I'd rather go to McDonalds."     "Okay, freshen up and I'll see you in about half an hour?"
_     Leila nodded and she and Sophie disappeared into the hotel somewhat slowly, as Leila was still getting used to getting around on the crutches. He quickly decided that there was a much easier way for Leila to get around - and it involved him.     René went back inside the hotel to wait in the lobby and found Sylvan there, waiting for him.     _"Poor, poor Leila. A cast on her ankle."     "It's a good cast though. It's in the French flag. She let me see it up close."     "How close was up close?"     "I was allowed to lift the leg of her pants to see it. That's how close."
_     Sylvan smiled, his dimples making their presence felt again.     _"Are you still going to take her out this afternoon?"     "She wants to go to McDonalds so we're going there. It's not my scene but if Leila wants to go to McDonalds, we shall go to McDonalds. Who am I to argue with a lady?"
_     They talked about various things while waiting for Leila to arrive. In between conversations, René purchased a permanent marker pen.     _"Why that?"     "Don't you want to leave your mark on Leila's cast?"     "I might, actually. If you leave me some space on it."     "I'll do that for you Sylvan."
_     A few minutes later, Leila hobbled into the lobby. She waved one of the crutches in greeting before slowly making her way to René and Sylvan.     _"Mademoiselle Leila, I feel very sorry for you, having that on for, what, six weeks."     "I'll build a bridge and get over it."     "I'm sure you will. I hope you don't mind but we would like to decorate the cast already."
_     Leila stuck her foot on René's lap, noting the look of slight discomfort as her heel was right on his crown jewels before moving it, and watched as René and Sylvan busied themselves, decorating the cast, acting like little kids for several minutes. René was tempted to see how she would react if he tickled her toes but quickly decided against it. She probably would give him another black eye to match his first one and probably refuse to be seen in public with him.     _"I think we've left enough room for Sophie to leave her mark."_     Leila removed her foot from René's lap and looked at the cast. From what she could see of it, there was hardly any room to Sophie to sign it and that it appeared to be covered in declarations of _Je t'aime_. That set alarm bells ringing in Leila's mind.     _"You think so? She might beg to differ."     "I suppose she will. Shall we go and leave Sylvan to entertain himself this afternoon?"
_     Leila nodded and slowly got up from her chair, using her crutches only when she absolutely had to. René quickly followed suit.     _"We'll see you later, Sylvan. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."_     Sylvan laughed. Sometimes, he did wonder what went on in that mind that belonged to the one and only René Dupree. He really did. 


	9. The McDonalds Date

    What was going on in the mind of the one and only René Dupree at the current point of time was how to bring up the subject of his tag team partner and Leila's twin sister, and whether to charge in like a bull in a china shop or go about subtly. _    "Can I ask you something, René?"     "Sure."     "The black eye. How did you get that?" 
_    He had completely forgotten about his black eye until Leila had mentioned it. He touched it, noting that the swelling didn't appear to be any worse. _    "Those damn Dudleys gave me a 3D, luckily not through a table. I just landed funny." 
_    Out of the corner of his eye, René could see Leila was blinking furiously and appeared to be crying. Surely, she wasn't crying on his account?     She was quick to offer an explanation. _    "It's hayfever. I look like I'm crying but that's only because my eye is watering really bad and I'm waiting for the pill I took just before to kick in."     "So you're not crying because I have a black eye?"     "Definitely not." 
_    Fifteen minutes later, they had arrived at McDonalds. As there was hardly anyone in the restaurant, Leila walked straight up to the counter and promptly stopped. _    "The one time I forget my glasses and it's now. But I don't really need to look at the menu to know what I want. It's all in here." 
_Leila tapped her head and quickly gave her order, which consisted of a Big Mac combo, large fries and a chocolate sundae. _"Besides, you're here now. You have to get something, even if it's just a hamburger." _    She would make him get something too, René realised. She was armed and dangerous with a pair of crutches and there was also the matter of her hands. Small they might've been but they could pack a punch. So he had been told but he had no desire to experience them for himself. Not in that way, at least. _    "They call this a hamburger?" 
_René asked after he unwrapped his burger. It was a sad and pathetic sight almost as bad as the omelette he had been served that morning. _    "Well, if you don't want it, I'll eat it once I've finished this," 
_Leila replied, busily removing the beef patties and pickles from her Big Mac and replacing them with the fries. _"I'm on the see food diet."     "The see food and eat it diet? I could almost believe that." 
_    Leila was about halfway through her new look Big Mac when René spoke again. _    "How long did it take Sophie to tell you where she and Sylvan went to last night?"     "A while. Once she actually realised that I really was worried about where she had been and that our father was a bit worried about her as well. His protective arm stretches out across the Atlantic! What about Sly?"     "Took him a while too. He seems to think there are two sets of rules - one lot for him and one for me. Naturally, his are more lenient than mine. I told him that compared to me, he is the rookie of the two of us. But he did tell me to tell you that he did her no harm. He wouldn't anyway."     "Well, you can tell him that he can tell me that to my face." 
_    Sneaking looks around the restaurant, René could see that some of the patrons were giving him and Leila dirty looks because they were speaking in French. Was it his fault that these Americans couldn't correspond in French?     He was also sneaking looks at Leila. Compared to what she was wearing when he first set his beady little eyes onto her, she looked very scruffy today in her French rugby shirt and dark grey tracksuit pants. Her hair was just about everywhere and it appeared that she didn't care about what people thought about it. Bed hair. Leila pulled that look off very well indeed. _    "Indeed I shall tell him that. When we get back to the hotel. How does that sound?" 
_    Leila nodded in agreement and went back to finishing her 'Leila Big Mac' as she called it. When questioned by René about the contents of it, she explained that she had never liked red meat and hated the pickles so they were replaced with the French fries. Fairly simple, when you thought about it.     A couple of teenage girls walked up to René and asked him for his autograph, openly glaring at Leila because she happened to be sitting with him and they weren't. René tried not to laugh in front of the girls because even he could see the girls were in envy of Leila but they didn't have a broken ankle. They didn't have a twin sister who disappeared with his tag team partner for several hours the night before.     They didn't have a hold on his heart.     He waited until the teenage girls had sat with their friends before speaking again. _    "They were in awe of you."     "Why? Because I happen to be sitting at a table in McDonalds with René Dupree and treating you like Mr Joe Bloggs?"     "Pretty much. They looked like they wanted to kill you."     "They'll build a bridge and get over it. Besides, they treat you differently. To me, despite the fact that you're a WWE superstar, you're still a regular person. To them, you're a god. You'd walk on water if they asked you to." 
_    Why did he spend his time with Leila? What she said was true. She did treat him like a regular person and he liked that a lot. Almost as much as he liked her. _    "I have to thank you for those tickets."     "Don't worry about it. It was the least I could do. Besides, if the American staff didn't get my wrestling attire and your lingerie mixed up, we probably would never have had the chance to get to know each other." 
_    Leila paused, the sundae spoon still in her mouth. She took it out and put it in her now empty sundae container, looking out onto the street, mulling over René's words. She was totally unprepared for him reaching over the tray and grasping her hand._    "And I'm glad we were given that chance and that we've taken it. You really are a lovely young woman, Leila. The man who succeeds in gaining the key to your heart will truly be a lucky man indeed." 
_    The way she reared back from René and took her hand back told him that he had been too forward too soon. She was clenching her left fist, possibly debating whether to give him another black eye to match his first one.     Damn it! Sometimes, he spoke before he thought and this was one of those times. The friendly camaraderie that had existed between them had virtually disappeared. Hell, Leila couldn't even look at him any more. _    "I know I shouldn't have said that but it's the truth, Leila." 
_    He knew she had heard enough when she simply got up from her seat, grabbed her crutches and somehow managed to get out of the restaurant.     Covering his face with his hands and muttering a few French expletives, René got up and caught up with Leila. Anything could've happened to her when he wasn't with her. _    "Look, Leila, I really am sorry about what I said in there. Sometimes, I say things I don't mean to say at that moment and that was one of them. I put my foot in that one big time." 
_    He noted, with some degree of happiness, that the look of distress on Leila's face slowly disappeared to be replaced by a sheepish look. Did she like the fact that René Dupree had made a complete and utter fool of himself in front of her? When did he ever do anything like that? _    "Forgive me?"     "I suppose so. Okay, I do forgive you. Happy now?"     "I think so." 
_    Leila laughed a little, releasing a little of the frustration that had been annoying her ever since René had made his declaration, and felt somewhat better. She noted that he appeared to look a little happier too.     By the time they got back to the hotel, the friendly banter that was there earlier was back, with René telling Leila a few stories about Sylvan and the various things he got up to. As they walked into the lobby, they could hear Sophie's laughter. She and Sylvan were in the hotel's club, probably starting on the bar tab they had won in the karaoke competition. _    "I think we might have to help them drink that." 
_    Leila nodded and followed René into the club. Her ankle was hurting a little so she reasoned that a little plonk would help the pain go away…  
  
_    A/N: Plonk is New Zealand slang for alcohol. 
_


	10. Three years of memories

    _A/N: Please note that this chapter contains some references to rape - you have been warned_  
  
_    "Hey!" 
_    The sound of her sister's voice made Sophie look up from her glass of red wine. _    "You bloody bitch! How dare you start drinking before me!" 
_    René and Sylvan gave each other equally cocky smiles upon Leila's outburst and both men laughed a little. René pulled out a chair for Leila and waited until she had seated herself before sitting down. _    "They told us not too long ago that there's another karaoke contest tonight so I thought Sophie and I could get a head start on the drinking."     "Yeah but you also have to meet up with the Hurricane to talk about your match. René told me." 
_    Sylvan acknowledged that Leila did have a point. He would have to remain relatively sober until after the Hurricane meeting. _    "Here he comes now. You two, play dumb. Keep asking him 'Parlez vous Français?'" 
_    Leila began to laugh. Sylvan appeared to have a short term memory as it was obvious to everyone that she and Sophie could understand and speak English but they felt more comfortable speaking in French. But if he wanted them to play dumb, they would play dumb.     René introduced the twins to the Hurricane and his partner for their match, who was none other than Spike Dudley. They nodded politely, merely playing the role Sylvan asked of them before looking at the bottle of wine which graced the table, smiling when they saw that it came from Bordeaux.     Leila and Sophie were talking amongst themselves in French, and René could only catch little snippets of their conversation. Leila wasn't giving anything away about what happened between the two of them at McDonalds, apart from the two girls glaring at her when they asked René for his autograph. Was she afraid that Sophie would go running to Sylvan to tell him?     In between breaks in their conversation, they managed to finish off the bottle of wine although another one replaced it in quick time.     Leila and Sophie had finished that bottle of wine and started on another before the Hurricane and Spike left them and René and Sylvan alone, seeing that the other WWE superstars had entered the club in readiness for the karaoke contest. _    "Don't you think you've had enough to drink?" 
_Sylvan asked_.     "No way. We've only just started. Besides, we've been drinking wine since we were about yay big," 
_Leila replied, indicating with a hand just how small she and Sophie had been when they started drinking alcohol. _"Of course, it was watered down then but not now." _    It was obvious that Sophie was ready to dance for a while in order to work off the alcohol she had already consumed to make way for more. Sylvan decided that he didn't want to take her onto the dance floor and asked René if he would. From the tone of his voice, it was more of an order.     He waited until René and Sophie were on the dance floor before turning his attention to Leila. _    "You seemed to be a bit uneasy when you returned."     "What do you want for that effort? A medal?"     "I'm a little concerned for you. He didn't do anything, did he?"     "Apart from being a little too forward for my liking. You know, speaking before thinking."     "What did he say? And I really do want to hear it from you before I hear it from him." 
_    Leila sighed, gathering her thoughts. _    "The man who succeeds in gaining the key to your heart will truly be a lucky man indeed. That freaked me out a little."     "He was being honest?"     "He was. Too honest for my liking. If we weren't in McDonalds when he said that, he'd have a black eye to match his other one."     "Now, I'm going to be blunt and straight to the point. Do you like him?" 
_    Leila nodded, too afraid to speak. _    "Then what have you got to be afraid of?"     "Myself. I'm afraid of myself." 
_    Sylvan nodded, well aware that he was only scratching the surface of the real Leila. Her bouncy attitude was a front to the real Leila. She didn't look very happy at the moment - in fact, she looked as if she was about to cry. Someone crying in a club was not a good look. _    "I'll get René to take you back to your room." 
_    As Leila watched Sylvan walk up to René and explain to him what was going on, she knew that she had to tell René why she had reacted the way she had when he made that declaration in the McDonalds restaurant. It was something she had never told anyone, including Sophie. And she was worried about how René would react when she told him. Once she had summoned up enough courage to tell him.     Hell, she had to summon up the courage to even leave the comfort of her seat for her hotel room but she knew she couldn't tell him in here, with an audience. Maybe Sylvan did have the best of intentions after all.     Sylvan's words to him reverberated through René's mind as he helped Leila back to her hotel room - _"Tread very slowly. Something very major's happened to her."_ - and mixed with the sound of Andrea Bocelli singing "Nessun Dorma" which was coming from their room. _    "Sylvan really was worried about you and now he's got me worried about you. Was it because of what I said to you in McDonalds?"     "It was. It just brought up bad memories that will take a while to go away again." 
_    Uh oh. This meant being able to keep it from Sylvan, unless she let him tell him. _    "Like what? Take your time to tell me." 
_    Leila refused to look at René's face, instead looking at his shoes. She didn't want to see the look of disgust on his face when she told him.     In no uncertain terms, Leila told René exactly what had happened to her three years earlier. A friend of her brother's had said the exact same words to her and he meant them, because he wanted to be the only bloke in her life. Thomas knew Leila didn't feel comfortable with Marc so always stayed within a reasonable distance if the two of them were alone.     Marc knew that Leila wasn't comfortable with him and that Thomas was weary of leaving the two of them alone and resolved to get Leila alone at some point in the future.     A couple of months later, Leila and Sophie had gone to a party of a mutual friend of theirs and Marc was there, unbeknownst to the twins who were busy catching up with friends they hadn't seen for some time, sharing a few stories, telling a few jokes, generally having a good time under the watchful eye of their brother.     At one stage, she had gone to get another drink for herself and Sophie and found herself accosted by Marc on her way back with the drinks.     Seeing that she weighed less then half of what Marc weighed, it was an easy feat for him to literally drag her into the nearest room.     Leila paused, gathering both her thoughts and her courage. René was no longer standing in front of her but sitting beside her on the bed, holding her free hand in his. She was so afraid of how he would react upon her telling him just how far Marc had gone with her.     Whatever she had yet to tell him, René knew it was bad. He had an inkling what it might've been but didn't say anything. He allowed Leila to tell him at her own pace.     Gathering thoughts and courage, Leila began to finish her story.     Sophie mentioned something to Thomas about her taking so long with her drink and he went looking for her. He knew that Marc was at this particular party and that he wouldn't have put it past him to at least try and hurt Leila in some way.     As it turned out, Thomas walked in on Marc hurting Leila by raping her. Yelling at the top of his voice for Sophie to look after her twin, Thomas dragged Marc out to where everyone was and publically humiliated him for what he had been caught doing to Leila. She hadn't seen him since and knew she didn't want to.     Now, he knew why she reacted the way she had when he had spoken those words in the McDonalds restaurant. He also knew that she wanted to cry but was trying not to in front of him. His first response was to hold her in his arms and let her cry.     He did so and sure enough, she cried, letting out three years of anger and frustration.     There was no way he was going to leave her alone now. She had just spilled her guts and needed to know that someone would be there for her and that someone would be him. René Dupree. If he wasn't here for her, he would ensure that either Sophie or Sylvan were.     Leila eventually cried herself to sleep and René covered her sleeping form with a blanket, carefully placing a pillow under her left ankle to keep it somewhat elevated. There was no way he was going to leave her alone now so he conducted a quick search of the room for her mobile phone, eventually figured out how to send a text message to Sophie and waited for her reply back.     After he had received a response from Sophie, he pulled up a chair to Leila's bedside and turned on the tv, with the intention of watching the cartoons but he found his attention wandering from the tv to the sleeping figure of Leila only a few centimetres away … 


	11. René realises

_    "Don't leave her here by herself. You never know what will happen if she's here by herself." 
_    That was the first thought that entered René's mind after he had covered Leila with a blanket. He wouldn't leave her alone so soon after she had just told him something that even her twin sister didn't know about.     Looking at Leila, René quickly decided that she looked very fragile at that point of time. She was curled up in the foetal position, one thumb looking as if it was in her mouth, her other hand holding her Ted E Bare to her chest. Her face was bright red and she sounded as if she had a cold because she was sniffing. It wouldn't be right to leave her alone until Sophie and Sylvan showed up again - if she woke up at any stage, needing someone, he would be there for her.     As he happened to be leaning in very close to Leila, he noticed several long, white scars on her left forearm - scars that weren't visible from a distance - and he cringed. No doubt, she had cut herself after what had happened between her and Marc in an attempt to release some of the pain then followed that up by keeping it inside her, refusing to tell a soul.     René felt the anger rush through his blood at what this bastard had put her through and wanted to get on the first flight to France to find him and finish the job that Thomas had started. But what good would that do? He'd find himself languishing in the hell of a French jail and that would be good for his WWE career because this Marc creature sounded like the type of bloke who'd press charges. An assault conviction didn't exactly look that crash hot on the old resume either.     Backing away from Leila, René settled on the chair again, getting bored with the cartoons and began channel surfing, stopping when he came across a channel which was broadcasting the 1960s programme _Batman._ There was something about this programme that he liked - it might've been all the _"Zok!" "Oof!" and "Kapow!"s _that graced the screen whenever Batman and Robin were fighting the villain and his/her cronies - but, nonetheless, he watched it. For some reason, it striked him as the kind of programme that Leila would watch.     In between various Batman and Robin fights, René glanced at Leila. She was no longer holding Ted E Bare in a death grip and was now lying on her back, one arm covering her face and the other resting above her head. How could anyone want to hurt such a lovely person? It was beyond him.     He jumped a few minutes later when he heard a beeping sound. Leila's mobile phone was resting by the TV and as he went over to pick it up, he realised that it was the source of the beep. Leila had a text message from Sophie. Correction - it was sent from Sophie's mobile phone but the message itself was from Sylvan, who wanted to know how Leila was.     Quickly glancing at Leila, René began to write out his text message back to Sylvan. He told him that she was currently sleeping after spilling her guts to him and that he was staying with her until he and Sophie returned. A few minutes later, Sylvan replied, saying that he and Sophie would only be staying there for a couple more songs, after making a snide remark about Chris Jericho's singing.     He could only hope that Sylvan didn't say anything to Sophie about Leila - maybe, she would prefer to tell her sister herself, not have La Résistance do the job for her.     Sighing, René placed the mobile phone back beside the TV and again took up residence in the chair beside Leila's bed, his gaze almost absently caressing Leila. Sylvan was right in a way - he did have to tread carefully with Leila. It wasn't something he was used to doing but if he had to do it in order to keep Leila in his life, he would do it.     Looking more closely at her, René realised that her eyes were open. As he looked closer at Leila and found himself smiling, she smiled back before closing her eyes again. He quickly filed that away in his memories box, the one that no one, including Sylvan, knew about.     Speaking of Sylvan, he was true to his word when he said he and Sophie would be back after a couple of songs. Sophie looked very concerned for her sister as did Sylvan.     Sophie sat on the bed beside her sister, smoothing back her hair, obviously wondering what she had said then it came to her. _    "Did she say something about what Marc did to her?" 
_    René looked away from Sylvan to look at Sophie in near absolute horror which pretty much gave Sophie her answer. _    "I had a feeling something horrible happened to her. She wouldn't tell me anything immediately afterwards and neither would our brother, even though he literally beat the crap out of Marc at that party." 
_    She looked both sad and confused. _    "Sophie, she'll tell you in her own time. It was bad enough for her to tell me what happened and her telling that story twice in one night will be bad enough as it is for her." 
_    Sophie nodded, looking even more dismayed. She kept whispering _"Why didn't she tell me?" _in French under her breath, all the while continuing to smooth back Leila's hair from her face.     René suddenly felt extremely drained. He reckoned he probably looked extremely drained as well so he wearily glanced at Sylvan who nodded in understanding. _    "Sophie? If you want us for anything, you know where to find us, okay? If you need to talk to either one of us, just pick up the phone or come to our room. You know which one it is." 
_    Sophie nodded and wiggled her fingers in a farewell as René and Sylvan took their leave of the twins. René had walked about two steps towards their room before leaning against the wall as realisation went through him, making Sylvan stop in his tracks. _    "It was bad, wasn't it? What Leila told you?" 
_    René nodded as he looked at Sylvan. _    "Like how bad?"     "Her brother's friend …" he paused, trying to keep calm over an event that had happened three years earlier, "raped her at a party. Her brother walked in on it and beat the crap out of his now former friend." 
_    Sylvan's jaw was, literally, on the ground, as if he couldn't believe what René was telling him. He had been right in telling René to tread carefully with Leila. _    "That's how I felt when she told me. I've seen things on that young girl you wouldn't want to - you have to be very close to her to see the several scars on her forearm. Then there are the mental scars. Something like this would've damaged her trust in men."     "She told you what happened and that's saying something to me. It tells me that she's starting to trust you. That she's allowing you to tread in her world." 
_    René sighed as he mulled over Sylvan's words and realised that what he had said was true. In telling him what had happened to her, Leila effectively had allowed him passage in her own world. And that was something he didn't want to abuse. At all. 


	12. Second time

    As easy as it was for Leila to fall asleep that night, it was the complete opposite for René. He tossed and turned several times, counted backwards from 100 but nothing worked. It got to the stage when Sylvan threw a pillow and was probably very close to throwing something heavier at him while he was still sleeping, mumbling something about him keeping still while he got his beauty sleep.     At dawn, René gave up on sleeping for more than 15 minutes at a time and stood at the window of his hotel room, occasionally glancing back at Sylvan, who, even in sleep, looked as if he didn't have a care in the world, wondering how on earth he could manage to get some sleep and he couldn't. Besides, Sylvan didn't need beauty sleep. He did. Maybe he could get some sleep later in the day, if his schedule would allow it.     He would, of course, see how Leila was. That was the least he could do that day. And maybe see if she wanted to do anything, which he highly doubted. It was more than likely that she would stay in the hotel for the day.     Sylvan stirred a little in the bed, smacking his lips as he did so and mumbling something about Sophie, making René decide that he would leave before his tag team partner woke up completely. He wanted to spend some time alone with Leila and he didn't need or want Sylvan hanging around like a bad smell.     Half an hour later, he was ready so he left Sylvan a note, explaining where he was going to be if he needed him for anything and made his way to Leila and Sophie's room.     The TV was going already so he knew at least one of the twins was awake. After sneaking a look up and down the hallway to make sure no one was watching him, René knocked on the door.     He had to wait longer than usual for the door to be opened and that was because it was Leila who opened it. The annoyed look on his face softened and the tired look on her face softened. _    "You slept alright, then?"     "Yeah. I've been awake for a couple of hours though. And Sophie's left me alone for the moment. You've got to love her when she does that. She's gone swimming apparently. So her note said." 
_    Ah ha! Time alone with Leila. Maybe it wasn't the ideal time to spend some 'quality' time with her but seeing that he had to fit in a workout or three as well as some sleep, he supposed it was a good thing that he was seeing her now. _    "Are you going to spend the rest of the day out there?" 
_    René laughed and walked into Leila's room. A box of Earl Grey tea bags was on her bed, opened, and a cup was sitting on the table beside her bed, filled with some of the brew. Belatedly, he noticed that her bathrobe was loose. _    "Couldn't you sleep?"     "It wasn't that. Thomas phoned at about 5am, forgetting about the time difference, just to see how we were and I let it slip about what I told you last night. I think he was a bit shocked that I had told you and not Sophie but I want to do that today. But he did say that it's only fair that I tell her what happened." 
_    René nodded and ran a hand through his hair. _    "Would I be pushing my luck if I got you to make me one of those?" 
_he asked, pointing towards the cup of Earl Grey tea, bringing a smile to Leila's face. _    "You'll have to have it the way I do - four sugars and fat milk." 
_    René tried not to cringe but failed, making Leila laugh. _    "It's not that bad, just ultra sweet!"     "Like you." 
_    Hell, he hadn't put his foot in it again, had he? The funny smile on Leila's face was replaced by a sheepish one, as if she liked what she heard but didn't want to admit it. _    "Thank you for that. I mean that." 
_    Rene knew she meant it - her eyes told him. He could lose himself in those eyes, he quickly decided.     She proceeded to make him a cup of Earl Grey the way she liked it and handed it to him, going over to the TV and setting up the PlayStation 2. _    "When or if you finish that, I'll challenge you to a battle on the Muppet game." 
_    He could do that, he decided. Quickly sculling the tea, he crossed the room to where Leila stood with a controller in her hand and took it, sitting on the edge of Sophie's bed. _    "Do you usually do this first thing in the morning?"     "Pretty much. It helps me to face the day and I need it today." 
_    René patted her hand and she smiled. Just as the game was set to start, someone knocked on the door. _    "For crying out loud!" 
_Leila complained as she got up from the bed, making use of her crutches as she headed towards the door. For all she knew, it was Sophie who had 'conveniently' forgotten her blasted key. _    "Bonjour, chérie!" 
_    She was shocked to find Sylvan on the other side of the door, and hastily pulled her robe closed. For her, it was bad enough that René had seen her in her birthday suit but Sylvan as well! It appeared that she had men falling at her feet! _    "She's not here at the moment, but I suppose you will want to wait for her."     "Well, my partner left me a note, telling me that this would be where I'd find him. Besides, I'm bored." 
_    Sylvan nodded and waited until Leila had stepped away from the door before entering the room. René was busy on the PlayStation 2, driving around as Animal, causing a large amount of damage to the other Muppets and going "Ha, ha" whenever he did so. He gently grasped Leila's elbow, making her turn around to look at him. _    "He told me the condensed version of what happened to you last night. I hope you don't mind. I was concerned about you so that's why … you know." 
_    Leila nodded in understanding, acknowledging that René had done the right thing in telling his tag team partner before freeing her elbow from Sylvan's grasp and slowly heading back to René and the PlayStation.     Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Leila looked around her and began to laugh. Never in a million years did she imagine she'd find herself in this situation - all alone with her favourite wrestlers. Imagine what her friends would say when she told them! _    "What's the joke?"     "This. I have a broken ankle and I'm sitting on a bed wearing only my bathrobe and I have my favourite wrestlers in the room with me. Never in a million years did I believe this would happen! No one will believe me if I told them!"     "Of course they will. Won't they?"     "Without photographic evidence, they won't. Besides, when little sister returns, I'll get her to take the photographic evidence. I'll make her." 
_    René and Sylvan nodded in agreement and Sylvan was quite happy to sit back and watch René and Leila battle it out in the battle league of _Muppet Race Mania_. It was obvious that Leila had had more experience when it came to playing the game because she was kicking René's arse quite handsomely.     At the end of the battle league, after she had won, she decided not to play any more, instead deciding to wait for her sister. She had heard Sophie wondering to herself about what had happened the night before and knew she had to tell her sister about what had happened between herself and Marc 3 years earlier. Having René and Sylvan in the room didn't help either - she was seriously considering asking them to leave so she could tell Sophie without an audience. And they knew it. _    "Would you rather us not be here when you tell Sophie?" 
_    Grasping that offer with all she had, Leila nodded. She saw the evil look that René was sending in Sylvan's direction and struggled to find her voice so she could tell René that that was what she wanted at that point of time. _    "I may change my mind though." 
_    René didn't want to smile cockily at Sylvan. He was seriously tempted to hold Leila in his arms, regardless of whether Sylvan was in the room or not. Still, he moved closer to her, wondering how she would react to that but found she was fine with it.     She had been fine with him patting her hand earlier!     Sophie returned a few minutes later, feeling somewhat refreshed after her morning swim. She blanched somewhat upon seeing René and Sylvan in the room and smiled quickly in greeting, before looking at her sister.     In no uncertain terms, Leila told Sophie to sit down beside her. Sophie did so, not even noticing that Sylvan was now sitting behind her on the bed and had draped an arm around her shoulders, giving her moral support. René was doing the same thing to Leila.     She gave Sophie the same story that she had given René about what happened between herself and Marc at that party, clenching her fist as she did so. Sophie was nearly in tears, Sylvan's grip on her shoulder tightened as did Rene's on Leila's. All the while, the words Sylvan said to him the night before repeated themselves several times. _    "She told you what happened and that's saying something to me. It tells me that she's starting to trust you. That she's allowing you to tread in her world." 
_    The more he thought about it, the more he realised it was true. Everything she did with him around, everything she said, was another step he had taken to the real Leila. She was starting to trust him and Sylvan also. She was also learning to trust herself again too.     And that was a good thing, wasn't it? 


	13. Memories and RAW

_    A/N: this chapter takes place a few days after the last one.  
  

_    Glancing at the clock in the hotel room, René picked up his bag, his room key and headed down to the hotel lobby to join Sylvan and the twins.     Today was the day that La Resistance were scheduled to fight the Hurricane and Spike and he and Sylvan were going to give Leila and Sophie a tour of the venue as well as introduce them to a few of the other superstars.     On the way down to the lobby, René thought about what he had done over the past few days and the events of that morning.     He had managed to catch up on his sleep, did a few work-outs, encouraging Leila to participate in them until she told him that she was getting a work out just by looking at him, causing Sophie to burst into laughter, and spent most, if not all, of his spare time with the twins. _    "How come you don't work out like I do?"     "Every time, without fail, I injure myself in some way. Last time, I pulled a calf muscle. Leila and exercise are like chalk and cheese - we don't mix. Besides, I don't want another injury. One's enough for me at the moment." 
_    The current memory of the moment was of Leila that morning. She and René had been on the PlayStation 2 until the early hours and she had crashed in his and Sylvan's room. He woke early and showered, quite happily walking around the room in his birthday suit, unaware that Leila was awake and watching him until he heard her begin to giggle. It was only fair - he had seen her in her birthday suit after all.     As he glanced in the hotel lobby to see if Sylvan, Sophie and Leila were there, he saw Leila's hand go flying to her hair - it was up but falling out so she quickly fixed it. Sophie and Sylvan were there also, talking about god knows what. _    "Here he is, my partner in crime." 
_    Leila smiled upon seeing René and even Sylvan noticed the way her smile lit up her face. René was onto a sure thing with her, he decided._    "I didn't know you could wear jeans when you've got a broken ankle."     "You can if they're flared, which these ones are. Luckily, I brought them with me." 
_    As he looked closely at Leila, René noted that she was wearing the bra that he had kept behind with him on purpose. Just seeing it made him think about the day he finally gave it back to her.     When he first saw it, he was impressed by the sheer beauty of it, how beautiful and delicate it was. He repeatedly traced the patterns on it, taking the delicate peach fragrance of the fabric conditioner that had been used, simply wondering what it would be like to do that when the owner was wearing it. Deep down inside, he knew that the owner of the bra was French - there would be no way any _American_ woman would wear such a flimsy yet beautiful item of lingerie.     Sylvan had teased him relentlessly when he discovered its hiding place, not that there were many hiding places for women's lingerie in a hotel room occupied by men of course.     He did have a few raunchy thoughts in his mind involving the bra and one of them was to touch it when the owner was wearing it, just to see the look on her face. He certainly didn't expect someone of the calibre of Leila to own such a bra.     Two days earlier, she had finally realised that it was missing. Knowing that it was René who had had her lingerie in the first place, she went to his room to ask for it back.     Thinking that it was Sylvan who had forgotten his key, René answered it wearing only his birthday suit and paled somewhat when he realised it wasn't Sylvan but was in fact Leila. She broke the ice by saying that there was no need for him to hide behind the door because she _had_ seen naked men before. "If you've seen one, you've seen them all" was her saying.     René allowed her into the room, seeming to guess why she was there for he told her to wait a few seconds and he would find her bra.     One of the tag team belts was on the bed and she leaned over to get a better look at it, seeing that she hadn't seen it that close before, only around the waists of the various champions over the years on TV. She decided that it looked better up close.     As she turned her head to see where René was, she realised he was right in front of her and hastily reverted her gaze from his crown jewels to his face. Dangling from a finger was her bra.     As she reached up to grab it, he moved it out of her reach, making her wonder exactly what he had planned. _    "Before I let you have this back, you have to indulge me." 
_    The look of wonder on Leila's face quickly turned into one of despair. He didn't mean that kind of indulge him, did he? _    "I've lost count of the number of times I touched this, wondering what it would be like to do so when its rightful owner was wearing it. Sometimes, it kept me awake at night for quite a while. Would you do it for me?" 
_    Having bared her soul to him a mere few days earlier, she knew he was jumping into this with two feet, pushing the boundaries that existed between them to their limits and beyond. And that should frighten her a little, shouldn't it?     She did have her dreams about being in this situation but now that her dream had turned into reality … she was stunned. And she couldn't move at all.     She couldn't exactly push him out of the way and run back to her room - her broken ankle stuffed that plan up and there was the small fact that he weighed more than twice what she did.     Her hand snaked up to grasp her bra and try to wrench it out of René's grasp and she seemed to be debating whether it was worth trying to damage it by yanking it right out of René's hand. She did so, not realising until it was too late that René was actually leaning in and he ended up falling on top of her, pinning her to the bed.     She really didn't think that much of René pinning her down until she saw the expression on his face. If she didn't move and in a hurry, he would be kissing her.     He was about to until Sylvan knocked on the door, apologising but saying that he had forgotten his key yet again. René smiled somewhat sheepishly at Leila before getting off her, helping her to her feet in the process as well as giving her her bra back, wrapping a towel around his waist and opening the door.     Sylvan's gaze had narrowed somewhat as he glanced at René and Leila. Had they been getting up to some action until he interrupted them? René explained the situation and Leila sheepishly left the room, her bra dangling from her hand.     René knew what probably would've happened if Sylvan hadn't interrupted them - he would've ended up kissing Leila and she probably would've given him another black eye. _    "Do you two have those passes we gave you?" 
_    Leila nodded, indicating that her pass was down her shirt with a finger. _"Well, Mademoiselle Leila, you are going to love it when they ask you to show it to them, aren't you?"     "Naturally, but I wouldn't be letting them put their hand down my shirt at all." 
_    She was glancing at René as she said that, smiling cheekily at him. He smiled back, noting that they had arrived at the arena.     Leila and Sophie, who were both used to the Stade de France, looked at the arena with their mouths literally on the ground. Leila absently pulled her shirt tight around her.     "This way."     They followed Sylvan into the arena, looking at all the various pieces of equipment, even noting some of the other superstars. _    "Stop looking like tourists!"     "We are, aren't we?" 
_    René nodded and motioned for the twins to enter the dressing room - the male one of course. RVD was already there, walking around in just a towel and turned around to drop it when he realised there were two females in the locker room. _    "I don't care if you drop it or not. I have seen naked men before. See them all the time on a nude beach." 
_    RVD looked gob smacked big time and waited until the twins and René and Sylvan had left the locker room before dropping it.     Half an hour later, the four of them were standing by the ring, René showing the twins where their seats for the event were and letting them in on a few secrets for when they came out for their match.     Instead of giving the Tricolour and their robes and berets to the ringside people, they would be given to the twins. _    "I like the sound of that - we'll get on TV!"     "That's the idea, you see. Then you'll be able to tell all your friends to keep an eye out for you." 
_    Leila grinned before making a 'get away' motion with her hands. _    "You've got a match to get ready for. Go. I'm not going to help you!" 
_    René and Sylvan both grinned before making their way back to the locker room, sneaking glances at the twins every so often. Leila was doing most of the talking, probably explaining the fine art of the WWE to her sister, seeing that Sophie wasn't that familiar with it at all.     By the end of the night, she probably would be. 


	14. RAW, drinking games and horrible makeup

    The crowd was pumping, the atmosphere there almost electric. In the male locker room, it was very electric.     René and Sylvan were sitting in their corner, their robes and berets sitting beside them, reminding each other about little points in their match that night. The Tricolour sat between them. _    "Do you think Sophie knows what goes on by now?"     "I should imagine she does. With a sister like Leila, you'd be stupid not to know what goes on in this business." 
_    They talked amongst themselves for a few more minutes until someone let them know their match was up next. _    "Well, time to rock and roll." 
_    René and Sylvan stood up, put on the tag team belts before putting on their robes and berets and picking up the Tricolour and making their way to the ring.     As their music hit and they walked down the ramp towards the ring, René and Sylvan pointed towards Jerry 'the King' Lawler and JR who had special guest commentators in the Dudley Boyz. René acted like a five-year-old instead of the 19-year-old he was and pulled a few faces at them before turning his attention to the ring.     La Resistance entered the ring, with René waving the Tricolour around while Sylvan asked for and received a microphone and proceeded to tell the crowd, in French, that they had to respect two members of the audience that night because they were French. René was looking at Leila who was looking at Sophie before they turned and looked at him. Luckily for them, Sylvan didn't name them or give an indication as to where they were seated.     They moved to the ropes and proceeded to remove their robes and berets, telling the ringside people to give them to the twins to look after. Leila immediately placed one of the berets on her head and held onto the Tricolour. In turn, Sophie placed the other beret on her head, effectively telling the crowd which two members of the audience René and Sylvan were talking about. Not that it worried them. They were quite happy to sit there and take it all in.     During the match, Sophie was wincing quite a lot and Leila was busy telling her not to worry, that it was all for show. Until Sylvan went to hit the Hurricane with the Tricolour (which he had very kindly asked for from Leila one time he was outside the ring) and ended up hitting René instead.     One of Leila's hands flew to her head and the other covered her mouth which was open in shock. She knew what it felt like to be hit on the head with a flag and knew that René would have a massive headache afterwards as well as a sticking plaster covering his wound.     After the TV cameras had finished rolling, Sylvan went back to the ring and got Leila and Sophie to follow him back to the locker room. René was having his wound attended to and didn't look very happy. _    "You should watch what you're bloody doing with that thing, Sylvan!"     "It's not my fault that he moved, causing me to hit you with it."     "You two should know that if you do anything like that, it's your partner that cops it, not your opponent. Female I may be, stupid I'm not."     "I don't suppose you'd want to kiss it better?"     "Not with an audience, thank you very much." 
_    René pretended to look a little disappointed and Leila rolled her eyes. _    "I'll do it later on. In private. Without the audience." 
_    He had to be content with that. It was bad enough that Sylvan had nearly walked in on them; only, next time, he would make sure that they couldn't be interrupted.     The other superstars floated around the locker room, seeming not to notice that there were two females in the room. In turn, Leila and Sophie didn't notice that most of them were walking around in their birthday suits. They were too busy looking at René and Sylvan. _    "Now, you two, especially you, Leila, be honest. What did you think of the show?" 
_    By this stage, they were on the way back to the hotel, Leila stuffing her face with McDonalds and Sophie too busy laughing at whatever Sylvan said. _    "The atmosphere is totally different. I mean, it's okay on the TV and that but when you're actually there, watching it live, it just goes off! It's totally awesome! I could get so used to seeing it live every week instead on TV."     "Tell me something, Leila. Every time I see you - or nearly every time I see you - you're busy eating McDonalds or something like that. How is it that you manage to keep so slim after eating all that junk?"     "Either good genes or a fast metabolism. I don't know what. Besides, if it makes you feel any better, our mother says I'll be fat when I'm old."     "Your mother says that?" 
_    Leila nodded, scoffing down the last of her burger and fries before having a long drag of her Coke. _    "I keep telling her I'll be a fitness obsessed grandma but I have severe doubts as to whether or not I'll be like that." 
_    René didn't say anything but he knew he was also having severe doubts about Leila being a fitness obsessed grandmother when she was older.     His head hurt where Sylvan had accidentally smacked him with the Tricolour that Sophie was holding and he gingerly touched the sticking plaster covering the wound. _    "You'll live."     "Thank you very much, Mademoiselle Leila, for your vote of confidence."     "You're welcome." 
_    René ruffled her hair, only for Leila to flick his hand away, complaining that he was messing her hair. His response was that it was already messy anyway, to which Leila responded with a 'Stone Cold' salute. Sylvan chuckled quietly as did Sophie.     They returned to the hotel, wondering what to do with the rest of the night. Belatedly, Sylvan remembered about the bar tab he and René had won in the first karaoke contest and went into the hotel's club to see if it was possible for them to start making a dent in it. _    "We can get drunk tonight. Wouldn't that be a way to end the night?" 
_    René and Sylvan didn't miss the evil looks on Leila and Sophie's faces. Those looks told them that the twins clearly thought it was a good idea to get drunk and that they would still be sober when La Résistance were drunk. _    "I take it you two think it's a good idea, then?"     "Yeah. Bring it on, brother." 
_    They played several drinking games involving a deck of cards and several cans of beer, which Leila decided wasn't worth drinking so she had the drinks changed to shots of vodka, another alcoholic beverage she was quite partial to. She noted with some delight that Sylvan was getting very drunk and was mumbling about anything that entered his head. The fact he was very drunk probably had something to do with the fact he constantly lost the drinking games and had to scull large amounts of vodka.     She had been drinking a fair amount of alcohol herself and was only feeling slightly tipsy. Sophie was leaning more towards the drunk side of the scale and René was closer to sober than what she was. Still, Leila was having a good time and that was the main thing.     Such a good time that when she heard one of her favourite songs - Nothing Else Matters by Metallica - she began to sing, nudging Sophie into singing as well, aware that Sylvan was too drunk to do nothing more than nod his head in time to the music and that René had an arm around her shoulders. __

So close, no matter how far   
Couldn't be much more from the heart   
Forever trusting who we are   
and nothing else matters   
  
Never opened myself this way   
Life is ours, we live it our way   
All these words I don't just say   
and nothing else matters   
  
Trust I seek and I find in you   
Every day for us something new   
Open mind for a different view   
and nothing else matters   
  
never cared for what they do   
never cared for what they know   
but I know   
  
So close, no matter how far   
Couldn't be much more from the heart   
Forever trusting who we are   
and nothing else matters   
  
never cared for what they do   
never cared for what they know   
but I know   
  
Never opened myself this way   
Life is ours, we live it our way   
All these words I don't just say   
  
Trust I seek and I find in you   
Every day for us, something new   
Open mind for a different view   
and nothing else matters   
  
never cared for what they say   
never cared for games they play   
never cared for what they do   
never cared for what they know   
and I know   
  
So close, no matter how far   
Couldn't be much more from the heart   
Forever trusting who we are   
No, nothing else matters

    To top the evening off, some of the other superstars entered the club, noting with some delight the state that Sylvan was in.     "I think he knows now not to partake in drinking games that we're involved in," Leila remarked to the Hurricane, indicating the cards that were scattered all over the table haphazardly.     "Besides, it should be René who's written off, not Sylvan. He was the one who got hit with the … what do you call the French flag?"     "The Tricolour. Fairly obvious when you think about. Tricolour - three colours … Besides, I've been smacked over the head with the Tricolour before."     "Answer me this, Frenchie."     Chris Jericho draped an arm around Leila's other shoulder, causing her to screw up her face a little.     "When these two ass clowns say _'We French are intelligent',_ what do they mean by that?"     "We French are intelligent. We weren't born in America. That would be sacrilege. Besides, we are more knowledgeable. We know where most of the countries in the world are, unlike them. They hate things that hate them. They hate the French. That's their problem, not mine. Now, go away, will you? I want to finish off the vodka."     Chris screwed up his face at Leila and did what he was told, much to her relief. He was one WWE superstar that annoyed the shit out of her and she suspected that he knew it too.     He was back in a few minutes, much to Leila's disgust.     "I want to challenge you to a drinking contest, Miss Frenchie. I bet I could outdrink you."     "She did tell you to leave her alone a few minutes ago, ass clown. I suggest you leave and, while you're at it, take some body language classes. Her body language is telling me she doesn't like you. This explains the fact she's leaning closer to me than she is to you."     "Oh, go fuck yourself!" Chris spat out in disgust and stormed off, annoyed that his attempt of showing his superior drinking ability had been thwarted. René chuckled before casting a brief glance at Sylvan, who had nodded off in his chair. He nudged Leila who smirked evilly.     She hunted around in her bag for something and came out with a small make-up purse.     "This will teach Sylvan for getting so drunk he fell asleep in the club. And I hope someone here has a camera handy. We'll need lots of photographic evidence."     Everyone was curious as to what Leila was about to do to Sylvan but they quickly realised when she opened up the make-up purse to reveal the most horrible make-up you could ever find.     René sat with the other superstars and watched as Leila and Sophie proceeded to turn Sylvan into a work of art or a freak show, depending on your thinking. They put horrifically bright blue eye shadow, bright red lipstick, and followed that up with lots of outrageously bright orange blusher and some green mascara that Leila had forgotten she had.     Once they had finished that, they proceeded to take photos of their crime and of everyone with Sylvan.     "There's a one hour photo shop down the road. I'll take this there tomorrow morning and then we can really embarrass him!"    René knew that once Sylvan saw those photos, he would be absolutely horrified but that was what happened if you got so drunk you fell asleep in the hotel's club … 


	15. Sylvain learns never to fall asleep in a

    As René entered the hotel restaurant the next morning, after laughing so hard at Sylvan's appearance that he ended up crying, he could hear soft piano music.     As he got closer to the piano, he saw that it was Leila who was playing on it. He didn't recognise the tune she was playing and lingered close to the piano, in the hope she would have the sheet music.     She didn't. She was playing off by heart, another thing about her that amazed him. He didn't know she could play the piano. And from what he could see, she was really good. _    "What were you playing, Leila? It sounded quite nice." 
_    She looked up from the piano keys and smiled sheepishly. _    "Something a little morbid. The Death March. I've always liked that." 
_    René nodded. _    "How's Sylvan this morning? Still dolled up?"     "Let me tell you this. My abs got such a workout from my laughing that they're sore. I won't need to work on them today." 
_    That told Leila that the make-up she and Sophie had applied on Sylvan was still in place. And that reminded her about the photos. _    "Have a look at these." 
_    She handed René the photos that she had picked up just before and he glanced through them, almost laughing the whole time.     "The one of you hamming it up is a good one!"     René showed Leila the relevant photo and she went to grab it, in order to destroy it but René's free hand grasped her wrist. _    "I want to keep it. To remind me of you."     "I'm drunk and I have a stupid look on my face yet you want to keep that?" 
_    René nodded. How else was he going to remind himself of her?     "I'll have to show you how lovely Sylvan looked this morning before we do anything today."     Leila was a little annoyed that René seemed to take her acceptance for granted but she followed him to his hotel room, where Sylvan was starting to surface.     "What?" he grumbled, still not fully awake yet aware of the face that Leila was in the room. He rubbed at his face, noting with some concern the red lipstick on his hand.     "We just came to see how you were."     Sylvan didn't miss René winking at Leila. She was trying not to laugh but was failing miserably.     "And you expect me to believe that, do you?"     Sylvan got out of the bed, hastily pulling on his La Résistance robe as he did so and proceeded to go to the bathroom, with René and Leila both waiting for the insults to start flying and fly they did. _    "Who did this to me?"     "Sophie and I did it last night. That will teach you for getting so drunk you fall asleep in the hotel's club. We've even got photographic evidence too." 
_    Sylvan looked as if he was about to either throw up or find a paper bag and wear that over his head for the day, or maybe both. The way he was clenching his hands told René that he had better get Leila out of there while he could.     "Take a chill pill, Sylvan. Within a few days, they'll forget about this and move onto something new."     Sylvan's top lip curled up in disgust and René and Leila left, laughing when they were out of the room. _    "That look on his face was a classic!"     "It sure was. I might just leave the photos for later on. You know, let him cool down just a little." 
_    Leila nodded and the two of them headed out of the hotel, without any plans for the day apart from having some fun.     They weren't aware that they, but in particular Leila, were being watched. Not by Sylvan. Not by Sophie.     By someone Leila would least expect.  
  
_A/N: I know this is short and sweet but let's just say I'm feeling the effects of way too much Coke right about now. Next chapter will definitely be longer._


	16. Mystery man revealed

_    A/N: If you're handing out blonde of the weeks awards, send one my way please. Mediah pointed out in her review that the legal drinking age in the US is 21 and here's me having three underage people in a licensed premises! Where I'm from, the legal drinking age is actually 18 so that accounts for the stuff-up on my part. And if you're wondering how Rene, Leila and Sophie manage to get away with being in a licensed premises underage, let's just say that, for the purposes of this work of fiction, Sylvan Grenier is a very smooth talker ;-) . 
_    René glanced at his watch and saw that it was already 5pm. My, how the day had flown!     He and Leila had spent the morning browsing the shops and the afternoon in a video parlour, playing several games of air hockey, which she won as well as having a few goes on several pinball machines. Leila kicked his butt there too. But what did René expect, when he spent most of his free time working out, not in video parlours!     Upon entering the lobby, where Sylvan and Sophie were waiting for them, Leila shivered suddenly.    "Are you cold?"     "It's not that. I'm being watched. I know I am. Not by you, Sylvan or my sister. And I don't like it. It makes me feel uncomfortable."     René briefly looked around the lobby and saw someone looking in their general direction who looked somewhat suspicious. Whoever he was, he was definitely eyeing up Leila, looking her up and down several times until he actually noticed that René was glaring at him.     She did appear to be cold, for the fingers on her left hand were white and her others red. Her left forearm was also orange with purple splotches - a result of bad circulation, something she had had from the time she was a baby. _    "I think someone's been telling me porky pies," 
_he remarked, indicating Leila's arm. She looked at it and shrugged. Her arm looking like that was nothing new to her. _    "Leila, are you okay? You must've done a lot of walking today."     "Yes, I'm fine - well I think I'm fine - and we didn't do too much walking today. When you're in a video parlour for the afternoon, you do a lot of standing. Anyway, I kicked his arse in pinball and air hockey," 
_she replied, gratefully sitting in the chair next to her sister. Rene sat in the chair next to her, still glancing at the suspicious looking bloke. He looked decidedly European. _    "Besides, we should be asking you how you are. You got that make-up off, then?" 
_    Sylvan's cocky smile found its way onto his face. _    "With a little help from your sister. That was some potent stuff you had there. Anyway, the others had a good laugh, looking at those photos you three took. I won't be living that down for a while yet."     "Leila took most of them,"
_ René corrected, earning a swipe from Leila. _"And now you know not to fall asleep in a club."     "Now I know not to get involved in drinking games with two young French girls who can obviously drink way more than me." 
_    Sylvan was pretending to be annoyed with Leila and Sophie but the fact that he was trying not to laugh gave it away to Leila and René. _    "I'm going to have a swim," 
_Leila announced, getting up from her chair. _    "In that?" 
_Sylvan asked, pointing at her cast. _    "I'll have it covered, you idiot. Just because I have a broken ankle doesn't mean I can't have a swim!"     "See, Sylvan?"
_ Rene smirked, almost giving into his impulse to give Sylvan a 'Stone Cold' salute to his tag team partner. Sylvan smirked back and merely told René to keep an eye on Leila and that he and Sophie would join them later on. _    "He always seems to take her acceptance for granted."     "Probably because she's not like me - she's too chicken to say no to someone like Sylvan."     "Really?" 
_    Leila nodded. _    "Unlike me. Sort of." 
_    She smiled sheepishly at René and didn't speak again until they had gotten out of the lift and made their way to her hotel room. _    "I won't be long. Just have to get changed and bring a change of clothes with me."     "In that case, I'll get changed myself." 
_    He squeezed her hand before taking his leave of her and she smiled before going into her room. She was still finding it hard to believe just how easy René was to get along with and how nice he was, under his French "I hate America and everything about her" persona. Of course, some people would have trouble believing that. Not Leila Marconnet.     The mystery man had taken all of this in, noting what room Leila was in and the room that René was occupying. He also noted the ease with which Leila got along with René and that annoyed him a lot. She was being ultra nice to him yet she had never treated him like that. Leila was nothing more than a two-faced bitch.     Her broken ankle would be a hindrance to her but a major help for him - she wouldn't be able to put her karate training to work on him. _    "Leila, are you ready?" 
_    She picked up her towel and wrapped it around her waist before grabbing her bag which contained her spare clothes and heading to the door. _    "Ready as I'll ever be," 
_she responded, closing the door behind her and walking to the lift, with René close behind her. _    "You sounded like you were going to your execution."     "You think? That's just my usual response to that kind of question."     "Then, I still have a lot to learn about you."     "Indeed." 
_    When they got to the pool, Leila dumped her bag, pulled a plastic bag on over ankle to protect her cast and secured it with a spare hair band and jumped into the pool. René quickly followed suit.     Nearly three quarters of an hour later, they were joined by Sylvan and Sophie. René noticed the mystery man wasn't far behind them and he, too, was dressed for a dip in the pool. Now that he had noticed Leila was in a bikini, he was openly staring at her, not caring that both Rene and Sylvan were glaring at him in disgust. If Leila was aware that this creep was looking at her, she could win an Oscar going by her acting. _    "I don't like the look of that guy. He's been openly staring at Leila from the time we were in the hotel lobby. He couldn't know her, could he?"     "I don't know, René. I honestly don't know. What makes you think that anyway?"     "I wish I knew, Sylvan. I wish I knew but it's a strange feeling I have. Like he's the bastard that … you know." 
_    Sylvan nodded in understanding. Now that René had pointed this creep out, he did looked decidedly shifty, with the way his eyes never left Leila and caressed her.     Meanwhile, Leila had gotten out of the pool and had walked over to her bag, which was close to the mystery man. She removed her shirt from the bag and shook it out, unaware that he was right behind her until she straightened.     Thinking it was René, she turned around and looked at him. She went from happy-go-lucky to shocked, confused and horrified in less than a second, a hand covering her mouth and her face going whiter than white.     She slapped the mystery man and hurriedly grabbed her things, fleeing as fast as she could with her broken ankle. Sophie had the same shocked, confused and horrified look on her face as Leila but hers wasn't as bad. She stared at the man, instinctively moving closer to Sylvan in the pocess. _    "Sophie? Does Leila know him?" 
_    Sophie nodded. It had been three years since she had seen Marc in the flesh and she could still remember the look on his face shortly before Thomas had proceeded to beat the crap out of him. _    "That's Marc. The bastard who raped her." 
_    That was enough for René. He nodded at Sylvan and hastily grabbed his things before following Leila. She had to be in a mess right now, what with seeing Marc again.     She needed support and that was one thing he was more than happy to provide for her. 


	17. Getting under Leila's skin

    As it happened, René didn't miss Leila.     She was standing at her door, trying without success to get the key into the lock because her hand was shaking so much and because the key wasn't going in the lock, she was becoming frustrated.     She was a little shocked when René took the key out of her hand and inserted it into the lock, turning it before trying the door handle. Rather gratefully, she went in, closely followed by René. She was ghostly pale and in need of a good cry. _    "I never expected to see him again. Never," 
_she whispered, unable to speak any louder than that.     René knew the 'him' she was referring to was that Marc creature. He looked like an arsehole and he would like nothing more than to wipe the evil smirk from his face. _    "What the hell am I going to do? I can't keep running away from him." 
_    In response, René simply walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. Leila gratefully buried her head in his chest.     He could feel the frustration and annoyance in Leila which wasn't at all good. The feeling of helplessness he had wasn't good either.     As much as Leila wanted - needed - to cry to release at least some of her frustrations, she found she couldn't. Simply being held by René was enough for her to keep her emotions in check for the moment.     She had a horrible thought and stiffened somewhat and that was something that René didn't miss. _    "Leila?" 
_    She removed herself from the circle of his arms and went hunting for her bag. Once she had found it, she went looking through it for an envelope that contained something important. _    "Do you think this would still apply over here?" 
_she asked, walking over to René and handing him the piece of paper. He took it from her and glanced at it briefly before paying more attention to it.     It was a restraining order taken out on that Marc creature, although issued in France. He wasn't to be within 100 metres of Leila and Sophie or he'd be arrested for being in violation of the order. Technically, he was violating it now. _    "I have no idea, to be honest. But, we could go to a police station tomorrow and see what they have to say. How about that?" 
_    Leila nodded in agreement. It would have to wait until the morning after all. She was tired and wanted nothing more than to have a nice, warm shower and go to bed to try to sleep. Which she severely doubted she'd do. _    "I'll stay here until those two get back." 
_    Leila nodded, her attention on the television. She supposed it was a good thing that René was staying until Sophie and Sylvan returned, because she wouldn't be on her own, and that would be when she'd be at her most vulnerable. _    "Who took that out on him?"     "My parents. After what he did, he was hassling me, hassling Sophie, hassling Thomas, wouldn't leave any of us alone and it got to the stage where my parents told his that they were going to take that out on him. His parents were fine with it. We still talk to his parents. We just don't talk to him." 
_    René nodded in understanding. _    "Shit. I should tell my parents, shouldn't I?" 
_Leila asked, looking at René. _"They've got a right to know."     "If you want to phone them, you can. I'll be here regardless." 
_    Leila nodded and pulled out her laptop, switching it on and waiting for it to boot up before connecting to the net. _    "Before you ask, I've worked it out that it's cheaper for me to chat this way instead of using my yuppie phone. They should be online now." 
_    There was no way that René was going to argue with Leila on that one. She was obviously more technology savvy than himself and he was quite content to sit back and watch her fingers move all over the keyboard. She seemed to be quite good at typing because she would spend most of her typing time looking at the TV, let alone paying any attention to the keyboard on her laptop!     A few minutes later, she swore several times. _    "What?"     "Something tells me that my parents are seriously considering getting on the next plane heading this way. Ah, me and my big mouth."     "It's not that big!"     "You obviously haven't seen me really eat. Put food in front of me and I'll eat it." 
_    A few minutes later, Sylvan and Sophie turned up, Sophie looking a little worse for wear herself. _    "He hassled her a bit," 
_Sylvan explained. _"And I've taken the liberty of arranging to have our stuff moved into here."     "We're big enough and ugly enough to look after ourselves, Sylvan. I do have a black belt in karate after all." 
_Leila pointed out to Sylvan. It was clear that she didn't like this one iota. _    "And you two need protection from this Marc creature. He'll probably try to get the two of you alone and if we're around, he won't be able to do that." 
_    Leila visibly folded. She sighed as she sank onto her bed, burying her face in her hands. But something told René that Sylvan did mean well by saying what he said. The twins were at risk of being attacked again and they needed someone to look out for them - if not their parents or brother, then La Resistance would do the job. _    "If you don't want us to stay in here for the night, then speak up now, especially you, Leila." 
_    Uh oh. Leila's face was starting to resemble either that of a Russian solider or a thunderstorm - either way, it didn't look pretty. She was clearly very annoyed.     René showed Sylvan the restraining order. _    "We're going to see if this will still apply over here tomorrow. Technically, he's in breach of it but whether it has any jurisdiction over here … we don't know. We won't know until tomorrow."     "Cheer up Leila,"
_ Sophie whispered. She had been hunting through one of Leila's suitcases and had brought out a rather large bottle of alcohol. _"I'm sure Jim Beam will help you forget about him temporarily." _    As soon as she heard the magic words 'Jim Beam', Leila visibly brightened. _    "But we don't have any Coke and I can't drink that on its own. Slyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?" 
_Leila turned around and looked at Sylvan. _    "If I give you $20, will you get as much Coke as you can get with it for me?"     "Certainly, chérie. It will be my pleasure." 
_    Leila laughed as she held out what she thought was a $20 note for Sylvan to take then noticed the funny look on his face. _    "I don't think they'd accept a €20 note somehow."     "Whoops!" 
_Leila took back the €20 note and gave Sylvan a $20 instead. He took it and left the three of them alone, to eye up the bottle of Jim Beam. In the meantime, Sophie booted up the laptop again and set their music to play.     Things appeared to be normal but underneath her happy façade, Leila was nervous. Nervous about Marc and what he could possibly do while he was there.  
  



	18. Violating

    As Sylvan patted his pocket to ensure Leila's $20 note was still there, he thought about her and René.     It was obvious to him that René cared for her a lot and she for him and that was a good thing. The fact that Leila was French didn't come into it. René really did care for Leila - whenever they were alone, in their hotel room, the arena or wherever, Sylvan had enough trouble getting René to shut up about her. Mind you, René had the same problem when it came to Sylvan and Sophie.     Now that he had seen this Marc creature up close, he could see why Leila and Sophie's parents took out that restraining order on him. He looked like a bastard - someone he certainly wouldn't want his daughters getting mixed up with. If he had any daughters.     He purchased the Coke Leila had asked him to get for her and was making his way back to the hotel when he was accosted by Marc himself. _    "You do realise that Leila's a frigid little bitch?"     "After what you did to her, I understand why she is the way she is. You should really be telling that to my tag team partner. It's Sophie that has captured my heart, not Leila."     "Whatever. Whatever. Be sure to remind the twins that the restraining order won't hold up over here. It only applies when we're in France." 
_    Sylvan glared at Marc for several seconds before going back into the hotel, trying not to shake. He knew he shouldn't have let the creep get to him but he really wanted to strangle him. Little wonder Leila was terrified of him.     He got back to the twins' room and waved the several bottles of Coke in his own, unique way. By moving his body. _    "Sweet! My caffeine fix can be fixed!" 
_    As Leila grabbed some of the bottles of Coke from Sylvan's arms, she noted that he looked a little worried. _    "Are you okay?"     "It's nothing, really. Besides, it should be Sophie asking me, not you." 
_Sylvan winked and Leila smiled. She took some of the Coke and walked over to Sophie, unaware that Sylvan had placed the rest on the bed and went over to René. _    "He accosted me outside just before. Reckons the restraining order won't hold up over here." 
_    René sneaked a look at the twins, who were busy pouring the Jim Beam into glasses and filling them up with the Coke. They didn't seem to be worried at all. _    "That's it. We've got to go to the police tomorrow and see what the story is about it. I'm not having him get Leila so worked up."     "I agree but I won't say anything to them about him until tomorrow. I don't want them worrying too much."     "So, what? Are we going to stay in here for the night?"     "It's the least we can do. Especially for Leila." 
_    René nodded and got off the spare bed - which was actually Sophie's - and went to sit on Leila's bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She smiled before going bright red. _    "It's too late to be getting embarrassed now." 
_    That remark earned him a swipe on his chest, which actually hurt. _    "You can be violent when you want to be, can't you?"     "Yeah but I wouldn't be that violent around you. Just that bastard." 
_    They all knew who Leila was referring to there. That Marc creature. _    "Does he have your cellphone numbers at all?" 
_    Thw twins looked at each other before looking at Sylvan. _    "Don't know. Hopefully, he doesn't." 
_    As René had a sip of the Coke Leila gave him - luckily, there was no Jim Beam in it at all - he remembered something about a fancy dress party that weekend. _    "Do you two feel like being our partners to a party this weekend? Fancy dress? I thought about having the two of you wear our ring attire."     "It has to be the tights, not the Speedos."     "We can do that. You two get to be La Résistance members for the night." 
_    Leila smiled for a few seconds before realising something. _    "What are you going to do about these?" 
_she asked, pointing to her breasts_. "We can't go walking around topless because we can get arrested for indecent exposure."     "We can wear those singlet things. You know, the ones where we don't need to wear a bra."     "I don't think they really wanted to know that, Sophie." 
_    She smiled sheepishly and Leila shook her head, stopping when she heard "La Marseillaise" - her cellphone's ring tone. She removed René's arm from her shoulders and moved to the end of the bed to grab it as it was sitting next to the tv.     She pressed the relevant button to answer the call, put the phone to her ear and literally froze.     After a few seconds, she brought her cellphone down, turned it off and threw it away. _    "That was him?"     "No shit, Sherlock."     "And you can't change your phone number because that's the one everyone knows and you have to be in France in order to do so?" 
_    Leila nodded, looking around for the vital piece of paper she had showed René. _    "I'm not waiting until tomorrow. I'm going down to the police now. I have to find out if that restraining order will hold up over here."     "I'm going with you." 
_    She had come to accept that. She nodded and pulled on a pair of tracksuit pants and an old sweatshirt, grabbing the restraining order and briefly looking at it. _    "Have you got the translation anywhere? They won't understand this version of it." 
_    Sophie went hunting for the translation and handed it to her sister. Leila snatched it out of Sophie's hand and waited for René to finish tidying himself up. _    "We'll be back when we're back. And don't let her out of your sight. You never know what he will try." 
_    Sylvan nodded and Leila and René left, keeping an eye out for Marc. _    "He, um, accosted Sylvan outside when he returned with your Coke."     "What? When were you going to tell me that?"     "Tomorrow, when we would be going to the police to get that restraining order sorted out. Might as well tell you now." 
_    Leila rubbed at her face in frustration. She had finally succeeded in getting rid of the demons about Marc and now that he was back in her life - not by choice - they were coming back to scare her.     She wouldn't rest easy that night until she knew where the restraining order stood. At least René was with her, she reasoned. She would be needing him in the next few days, if this situation got any worse.     Which it probably would. 


	19. Restraining order sorted

    After waiting half an hour at the police station, Leila got the chance to explain why she and René were there.     She handed the police officer the restraining order and the translation of it and basically said that she wanted to know if it would have any jurisdiction in the United States, since it was issued in France - mainly because the person it had been taken out on was in the United States, in her hotel, and hassling her already.     The police officer looked at René for a few seconds, trying to figure out where she had seen him before, and said she would have a few words to see where they stood. If Leila remembered which particular police officer in Paris it was she had seen and how to contact them, that would help them a lot. Leila hunted in her wallet for the card that particular police officer had given her and gave it to the female officer, explaining that he did speak English.     Leila was nervous for she was clenching and unclenching her fists, until René held one of her hands in his. _    "I hate this. It makes me feel very helpless."     "You have me and that's a good thing, no?" 
_    Leila nodded, grateful that René was there with her. It was amazing what she felt for him already. He was the only bloke, apart from Thomas and Sylvan, who knew exactly what had happened between her and Marc and she wanted it to remain that way. She was starting to trust René and that was a good thing. _    "You're beginning to trust me, aren't you? I can tell."     "I am. I'm glad you're around. I mean, all this crap with Marc … he'd simply love it if I was alone but seeing that you are with me, just about everywhere I go, he's going to find it harder to get near me. And I thank you for that." 
_    He had every intention of making her thank him for that. But now wasn't the right time for that. Once this Marc creature had rid himself from her lift was the perfect time but not any earlier. _    "It's not a problem." 
_    While waiting for the police officer to return to them, René entertained Leila by telling her a few stories about Sylvan, happy to see the smile on her beautiful face. _    "He sounds like quite the character. I'm glad it's Sophie he's after and not me."     "Believe me, chérie, I'm glad too." 
_    If they weren't in a police station, who knows what René would've been doing to Leila then?     Finally, she returned, with a semblance of a smile on her face.     "That police officer was quite the character! He told me pretty much what you told me, faxed me a few details. In turn, I showed all the paperwork to a few colleagues and I can present you with an American restraining order. Now, you say he's staying at the same hotel as you?"     Leila nodded and listened to the police officer as she explained what Leila needed to do. René listened in too, because Leila allowed him to.     The police officer handed back the paperwork Leila had given her and told her to enjoy the rest of the evening. Leila thanked her profusely.     She and René walked back to the hotel, Leila holding onto both restraining orders for dear life, safe in the knowledge that if Marc stayed at the hotel any longer, he was breaching both restraining orders.     As they re-entered the hotel, they heard the classic Right Said Fred song - "I'm Too Sexy" - and Leila started to laugh. _    "What's so funny about that song?"     "Every time I hear it, it reminds me of you. That little dance you do in the ring … you know." 
_    That song reminded her of him? The thought made him grin. _    "We'd better get back and tell Sylvan and Sophie the good news about the restraining order. They," 
_René indicated the people at reception, _"can wait until tomorrow. You are going to have a good night tonight." _    Leila nodded - she was far too happy to argue with René over that.     They re-entered the hotel room a few minutes later, looking a little flustered but, luckily for them, Sophie and Sylvan didn't notice or didn't appear to have noticed.     "So much for Marc's theory that a restraining order issued in France won't hold up over here. I have in my hot little hand another restraining order."     Leila handed it to Sylvan and Sophie and went to sit in front of René. He rested his head on a shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. _    "Did they say what to do about him being here?"     "Yeah but I'm leaving that until tomorrow. René has told me that I am to have a good night tonight."     "You've been having one already going by the looks of you two."     "Is it that obvious?" 
_    Sylvan nodded with the cheeky smile on his face and Sophie shook her head, laughing to herself. _    "He didn't come here and annoy you two at all?"     "No. We've been sitting here, having a few drinks, telling a few stories, you know, just the usual. We should sort out what you two will wear to this fancy dress party on the weekend before we get too drunk."     "I know what I'm wearing, thank you very much. His ring attire, but I'm leaving him with the Speedos though. You might have to do something about the tights though. They'd fall straight off me. The robe will be fine, as will the beret." 
_    A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door. Leila looked towards it, hoping that someone else would answer it - luckily, Sylvan did. _    "She thinks she's so clever, does Mademoiselle Leila. I wonder how bitterly disappointed she was when the police here said her restraining order wouldn't hold up over here."     "You poor, deluded fool. She and René have not long returned from the police who told them that not only did the French restraining order hold up over here, they were issued an American one also. I suggest you remove yourself from here otherwise we're all going down to reception and telling them about the order and we'll all have fun watching you being removed from the hotel." 
_    Marc glared at Leila, who was cocooned in René's arms, leaning back into him. She was looking at Marc with a slight smile on her face, knowing full well that he would be very angry at being thwarted again. Sophie was glaring at Marc and René wasn't paying him any attention - his attention was on Leila's neck. _    "I'll get you, Leila. Just you wait, you little bitch. You'll get your comeuppance." 
_    Sylvan shut and locked the door before turning to look at Leila, Sophie and René. _    "René, are you a vampire in disguise?"     "Sylvan, he was doing no harm at all!"     "I know but it did look a little dodgy from where I was standing."     "Yeah, well, everything looks dodgy from where you stand." 
_    Sylvan smiled and proceeded to walk over to the bed, where Leila, René and Sophie were sitting with the Coke and Jim Beam. _    "Now, Leila, promise me this. You won't worry about him again for the rest of the night?"     "No, Sylvan, I will not worry about him for the rest of the night. He's not worth it for a start!" 
_    René smiled and watched Sylvan pour Leila another glass of Coke. He so hoped she was right, after all.  
  
A/N: I think I did well on this chapter, considering I felt at least one lovely aftershock while typing it up - we had a 7.1 earthquake at 12.15am yesterday (which is a big one). The shaking went for three minutes and I swear it was the longest three minutes of my life. Luckily, no major damage happened at all *crosses fingers* 


	20. Could it be ?

__

A/N: This skips to just about the end of the fic - I was actually debating whether to keep building up to the main event, as it were, or to skip the main event and start afterwards. As it happened, I started to write the 'skipping' part first.

    Was it only three months since he held Leila's bra in his hot little hands? Was it only three months since he had first met her? Was it only two and a half months since he first kissed her?     These questions and many more were running through René Dupree's mind at the current point of time. He had been miserable for the best part of the previous week - all because Leila had to return to France.     Nothing really held his interest any more - even wrestling, which was in his blood.     He frequently looked at the photos of himself and Leila and constantly looked beside him, hoping against hope that she would suddenly appear. But she didn't.     Things had come to a head between her and Marc shortly before she left - he thought he was so clever in managing to get her alone while she was slightly tipsy and decided to try and do what he did to her three years earlier. He didn't get so far this time because, luckily for Leila, Sylvan had noticed Marc taking her away and told René, before the two of them went after them.     Three days after that, Leila had to return to France. She had clearly enjoyed herself in the US and wanted to stay but she didn't want to run the risk of being deported. She wanted to stay with René and he with her. _    "It's Leila, isn't it? You're thinking about her?" 
_    René looked up at Sylvan and nodded. Sylvan could clearly see how much René enjoyed having Leila in his life and that he was somewhat lost without her. _    "Why don't you go over to France and surprise her? I'm sure she'd love that." 
_    She probably would but he'd have to organise the time off with a suitable break in their storylines. That would be more trouble than what it was worth. No, he'd continue to mope and act as if he wanted to be in the squared circle. _    "She probably would but I'd have to organise the time off with a suitable break in our storylines. Who knows when that would be?" 
_    Sylvan nodded in understanding. He did know what René was going through because he was missing Leila's sister Sophie. He also knew that, at that point in time, Leila was on her way back to the US to surprise René and he obviously wasn't allowed to tell him that. He also had to come up with a reasonable excuse in order to get to the airport to pick Leila up.     There was nothing more really that Sylvan could say. Whatever he did say would probably upset René even more and that was the last thing he wanted at the moment. His tag team partner was upset as it was. _    "I have to go somewhere this afternoon but I'll bring something back for you, okay?" 
_    René grunted in response. He just wanted Sylvan to leave him alone, to wallow in his sorrow without any company.     This feeling of helplessness was completely new to René. He was so used to having everything pretty much his own way but he couldn't figure out his own love life.     Previously, the only thing in his love life was wrestling. That was until a certain young French girl entered his life and left her mark on his heart.     The mere fact that Leila had told exactly what had happened to her three years earlier told him that she trusted him. He was there for her whenever she had troubles with that Marc creature, and she appreciated that. A lot. She showed him that in her own way.     He still thought about that night a lot. Even in the ring, the locker room, on their way to the next city they were due in. _    "When you're looking in her eyes, you can see forever." 
_    René was still trying to figure out why that particular line from an Enrique Iglesias song was stuck in his mind until it hit him.     When he looked in Leila's eyes - eyes so blue they were nearly purple - he could see forever, if not forever then certainly 50 years ahead. The two of them sitting on rocking chairs with grandchildren on their knees.     Even some of the other superstars noted that he looked down just about all the time and put it down to the fact that La Résistance were going through a phase. He knew that wasn't the case. Sylvan knew that as well.     In the end, Leila was like a drug - he was addicted to her. That was it. Plain and simple.     With a great deal of effort, he picked himself off the floor and made his way to the hotel's gym, having a usual workout, trying not to think of Leila. But it was next to impossible.     He remembered one time trying to coax her into working out, only for her to respond by saying she was getting a workout by looking at him. That threw him a bit until she explained that she and working out didn't mix at all.     They had several good nights drinking, even though they were both underage. One memory that stuck with him about the drinking sessions - even though he didn't really drink - was the night Sylvan fell asleep in the hotel in New York, and Leila and Sophie had dolled him up in the most awful make-up you could find. Everyone had had a laugh or six over the photos which turned out really well - he should know. He had some of them reprinted, to remind himself of what he had lost and wasn't sure if he would find again.     He wondered what Sylvan would be bringing back for him - he didn't know whether to be happy or not that Sylvan was making an effort to make him happy again, even if it was only for a little while.     After his workout, he trudged his way back to his hotel room, ignoring the other superstars who asked him to do something with them. They didn't understand what he was going through. They would only laugh at him behind his back, make fun of him, that sort of thing.     How would they know what he was going through?     His last night with Leila hadn't started off that well but ended well. Marc had tried to rape her again until he and Sylvan thwarted him. One of the other WWE superstars had noticed that he was at the party and had phoned the police, because he had been told about the restraining order that was out on him - Sylvan felt that they all needed to know about that.     Leila was dressed in his ring attire - his old ring attire - and she looked even more French in it than what he did. The robe dragged on the ground a little for she wasn't 6 foot 3 and she had to wear a singlet top underneath it because she, for obvious reasons, couldn't walk around topless. Her hair was up underneath the beret and she looked like the French were perceived around the world - arrogant. Sophie looked equally as arrogant.     By that time three days later, he was moping, feeling like he had just lost a beloved family member. Leila was on a plane heading back to France. He was so used to having her in his life and now that she had gone, he didn't know what to do with himself. Apart from wanting to get on the next plane to France to be with her.     He sat on his bed, looking at a photo of the two of them together - one they weren't aware had been taken until it was handed to him by the Hurricane - wondering if he would ever see her again. He fell asleep thinking about Leila. At one stage, he dreamed about her.     A couple of hours later, the phone ringing woke him up.     Cursing because he had been woken up and because he had slept with his mouth open, René got up and walked over to the phone. _    "It's Sylvan. I've got a surprise for you down in the lobby. You'll like it."     "I'll be right down." 
_    He was suspicious because Sylvan sounded happy - too happy for his liking. He replaced the phone and glanced in the mirror to see if he needed to fix his appearance. He still looked somewhat tired but didn't really give a stuff.     René trudged his way to the lift, stabbed at the relevant button and sighed while waiting for the lift to arrive at his floor. He didn't like the sound of this at all and wondered if it was another attempt by Sylvan to get him out of his rut. He didn't like it at all.     After getting into and waiting for the lift to reach the ground floor, René strode into the lobby and saw Sylvan talking to some poor woman. He felt sorry for her, having to put up with his tag team partner and went to say something along those lines until he got a closer look at her.     She looked vaguely familiar to René but the look he gave Sylvan told him that he wasn't really in the mood to be cheered up.> _    "He's here. Look, I thought you might like to say bonjour to Leila but, going by your facial expression, it seems as if you don't." 
_    Leila? She couldn't be here. She was in France, wasn't she? There was no way she could possibly be in the US again, could there? _    "You do remember me telling you 'I have to go somewhere this afternoon but I'll bring something back for you, okay?', don't you?" 
_    René nodded, wondering exactly what his tag team partner was getting at here. _    "I had to go to the airport and Leila is what I brought back for you." 
_    Sylvan went to the airport and brought back Leila? For him? Surely, his tag team partner was joking. Wasn't he? _    "Leila, go and say hello to him. I think he's still having trouble with the concept of you being in the US and not France." 
_    Leila stood up and turned around to face René. It was definitely her - the sparkle in her eyes, the beautiful yet shy smile … she really was here!     René hugged her until she told him to let her go. _    "I haven't been well lately. I don't think you'd want me to upchuck on your shirt." 
_    No, he didn't want that. She did look a little fragile underneath her happy smile and she also appeared to be somewhat bigger. Was there another reason for that? _    "I just can't believe this. Just this morning, I was saying to Sylvan that I wanted to see you and here you are."     "He told me. I can't believe he managed to keep it all to himself." 
_    Sylvan could tell from the look on René's face that he wanted to be left alone with Leila so he headed to the hotel club, remembering the aftermath of what had happened when Sophie was here. The smile on his face wasn't his usual cocky one at all but one of satisfaction.     "What's with the smile, Sylvan?"     "It's René. I think he's finally going to be out of his rut, thanks to me."     "Out of his rut? How did you manage that feat?"     "Leila. She phoned me last week to tell me that she was coming back for three months and wanted me to keep it a secret from René. I don't know how I managed to do so but you should see him now. He looks so happy."     He motioned towards the lobby and the Hurricane stood a few metres away from René and Leila, taking in the scene. The two of them looked very happy, judging by the smiles on their faces and the sparkle in Leila's eyes.     "Me thinks we had best leave them alone for a while."     "My thoughts, exactly." __

Late I know, but better late than never, right? I have a few very important life decisions to make in the next few weeks so if I don't update any of my fics for a while, that'll be why.


	21. Happy yet sad

    "How could I forget that? Sylvan falling asleep in the bar! He learnt his lesson that night!"     René had been showing Leila the photos of the night in the bar when Sylvan had fallen asleep after getting himself involved in a drinking game with Leila and Sophie and loved to see the smile on her face.     "Seriously, I was wondering when one photo in particular would be stuffed."     Leila looked at René wondering which photo he was talking about until he placed the said photo in her hand. The photo was the one The Hurricane had given him after Leila had returned to France - she was looking at Sylvan who was involved in a game of tonsil hockey with Sophie and René had his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder, her hand in his hair. It had been taken at the party before Marc had made his grand entrance.     "When was that taken?"     "I didn't know it had been taken until the Hurricane handed it to me. Since then, it hasn't left my sight. See the water mark there?"     Leila looked where René was pointing at the photo to see a rather large water mark on it.     "It even went into the bathroom. I accidentally got water on it one day. Hence, the fuck up there."     Leila smiled and looked at the photo again, scarcely believing that it had been taken in the first place. Anyone - even those who didn't have a degree in reading body language - would be able to tell that they really cared about each other. Which was one reason why she was back in the US, even if it was only for another three months.     "Hugging the photo was alright but it's much better hugging the real thing, wouldn't you agree?"     Leila nodded, screwing up her face slightly as the movement made her headache just that little bit worse. Not enough sleep combined with approximately eight hours flying made her feel that bit more unwell. Then, there was the fact that she was still recovering from what had happened to her two weeks earlier.     "Not feeling well?"     "Yeah. I feel terrible."     She looked it. Just as he was about to stand up to help Leila to her feet, a hotel staff member came over to them.     She offered her apologies to Leila before explaining that there had been a mix-up with her room and that the room promised to her wouldn't be available until the next day. Leila visibly crumbled at that news until René informed the receptionist that she would be staying in his room while she was at the hotel, therefore there was no need for them to keep a room for her.     Leila wasn't going to complain about that at all. She was too tired to complain about anything. All she wanted was to sleep.     A few minutes later, she had curled up on one of the beds in their hotel room. Male René might've been but stupid he wasn't - even he knew that Leila wasn't only just tired. There was something else.     "You haven't told me everything, have you?"     Leila shook her head, although it appeared that she was nodding because she was lying down and René was standing. Now that he knew she hadn't told him everything, she had to tell him what had happened to her two weeks earlier. And that it hadn't involved Marc at all.     Half an hour later, René slowly entered the hotel club, Leila's words echoing in his head. He was now torn between wanting to be with Leila and wanting to tell Sylvan what Leila had told him.     "I was going to ask if you were okay but you don't look it so I won't bother."     René sat beside Sylvan and grabbed his beer, knocking back half the contents in quick time. Sylvan, by now starting to feel the effects of the beer he had consumed, looked at René in alarm. René hardly ever touched alcohol. Something was up with him.     René placed the beer back on the table and looked at Sylvan. He actually felt like drinking something far stronger than beer but beer would have to do right now.     "You deserve to know. That's why I'm here."     "Deserve to know what?"     René looked from Sylvan to the Hurricane and the Hurricane knew that René wanted to speak to Sylvan alone.     "I'll go and see what the others are doing."     René waited until he had left them alone before turning his attention back to Sylvan and his beer, quickly draining the bottle.     "I know why she doesn't look well and spending about eight hours in a plane was only part of the reason why."     Sylvan nodded, absently reaching for his beer until he remembered that René had drained it. He ordered two more and waited until they had arrived before encouraging René to talk.     "You remember what happened the night of that party when Leila and Sophie wore our old ring attire?"     Sylvan nodded. How could he forget that? Leila and Sophie looked more French in it than what they did.     "Obviously, Leila was upset about what had happened, and what nearly happened. I obviously comforted her, one thing led to another …"     Sylvan knew exactly what René was getting at there. The same thing had happened with him and Sophie.     "To make a long story short, three weeks ago, she found out she was pregnant. Two weeks ago, she lost the baby."     Sylvan was stunned. Leila had been pregnant. Could this mean that Sophie might be as well?     "That's why she's here. She couldn't face telling me over the phone so she thought she'd come back here for a few months and tell me in person. We're the only ones that know about it."     "Sophie doesn't know?"     "Sophie is in Toulouse, Leila thinks. She did a disappearing act a week after they got back to Paris and eventually told everyone where she was - in the south of France. She said she'd probably be there for some time."     "Get the beer down you and go back to Leila. She needs you now."     René nodded and quickly sculled the beer. Leila needed his strength and he needed hers. This was their battle, one they needed to fight together.     "You're right. If you need me, you know where to find me."     Sylvan nodded and watched as René left the club to go back to Leila. He couldn't even begin to imagine exactly what René and Leila were going through. He then decided that after he had finished his beer, he wasn't going to have any more. He wanted to keep a close eye on Leila and René.     "She's not getting away from me easily next time. I should've followed her back to France."     René was smoothing back Leila's hair from her face and gazing at her stomach. The beer hadn't seemed to affect him in any way yet, even though one and a half stubbies was one and a half stubbies more than what he usually drank.     "So what do you plan to do in order to keep her with you? Lock her up?"     "That's for barbarians, and that is something I am not. I'll think of something. I know I'll think of something. Give me a bit of time, though. She's only just arrived."     Sylvan acknowledged that René did have a point. Leila hadn't been back in the US for very long, she was tired, René had gone from being extremely down to extremely happy to down again. Life had dealt more than its fair share of blows to René lately. All Sylvan wanted for him was for him to be happy.     "I don't think I thanked you earlier, Sylvan."     "For what?"     "Keeping Leila's phone call from me. I know you meant well in doing that and that is something I definitely have to thank you for. You know, getting me out of my rut."     "You'd do the same thing for me, would you not?"     René nodded, not taking his eyes off Leila for a second. He meant what he had said about not letting her get away from him easily. She had slipped through his fingers once. There was no way she was going to slip through them for a second time. Even if it meant he had to travel to France in order to be with her.     "You know I would."     Sylvan nodded.     "Just seeing how happy you are to be with Leila again is my payment from you."     René had to look away from Sylvan then. He didn't want him to see the tears in his eyes. That would mean showing exactly how grateful he was for Sylvan keeping both Leila's phone call and return a secret from him.     "If you want me to go, René, just tell me. Something tells me you want to shed some tears but you don't want to do it in front of me."     "Please."     Sylvan nodded again and left René and Leila alone. The pain they shared wasn't something he could understand, just yet.  
  
_    Late, I know but I must be honest and say that I really didn't feel like updating this for a while. Hopefully, the next chapter will be the last one then I can start writing the sequel.
_


	22. Surprise sprung

    Leila and René built their bridge and got over it. Eventually. Sylvan was thoughtful enough not to mention what had happened in front of them but he always tried to cheer them up whenever he noticed they were upset.     Leila had eventually told her parents what had happened because it finally dawned on her they would need an explanation as to why she returned to the US earlier than what she had originally planned. Both of her parents had spoken to René and he assured them that he would look after Leila, especially since he had learned precisely why everyone tended to worry about her.     They toured the US, feuding with the Dudleys, the Hurricane, Rosey among others, taking in the scenery and getting up to some mischief whenever they felt the need to do so.     Still, Leila found the time to phone her parents every week to let them know what she was up to, where they were heading to next, wondering when they were coming over because René had told her that he wanted to meet her parents.     "We can tell him that we're going shopping. Do you think he'd believe that?"     "If I came back with a few glossy, emblazoned shopping bags, he might. Besides, we could always say that all we found were my parents."     They left for the airport while René was working out and found that the flight had actually landed early.     "What do your parents look like?"     "My mother looks like me, only older. There she is."     Leila pointed to a woman heading towards them and Sylvan saw her face literally light up as her mother saw her and smiled. Leila and her mother could easily be mistaken for sisters, instead of mother and daughter.     "You know who he is, don't you?"     Leila's mother looked at Sylvan and nodded.     "I do, Leila, but I was hoping that René would be here."     Leila rolled her eyes and looked at Sylvan, who had his cheeky look on his face.     "Working out's a little more important for him. Besides, he doesn't know where we are. All we told him was that we were going shopping."     After greeting her father, Leila quickly introduced him to Sylvan, explaining where René was.     "I think my mother is dying to have René stand next to my father so she can compare the two of them," Leila told Sylvan as they headed out of the airport, an arm around her father's waist.     Sylvan decided that it was a nice sight - Leila with her parents. He could see where she got her relaxed attitude from and that she took after her father more. Sophie took after her mother.     With that thought in mind, he asked after Sophie.     "She's been in Toulouse for the past few weeks. She seems to be doing fine, although she's been a little ill lately."     "She hasn't told me that because she hasn't spoken to me since we returned to Paris."     Sylvan knew she was annoyed and upset with her sister about that.     "Tell my parents about … _that_." _    That
_ turned out to be free tickets to the two Raw shows that La Résistance were due to compete in while Leila's parents were in the US. Naturally, Leila's mother was happy about that. But she was even happier just to see her elder daughter, the one everyone worried about.     By the time Leila's parents were due to return to France, René found that he had learned a little more about Leila. He also found that Leila's parents liked the idea of him looking after their daughter, making sure she didn't do things she normally wouldn't do. He had even gained the permission of Leila's father to ask her something. Something he wanted to do later on, when she would least expect it.     They had enjoyed the Raw shows, Leila's mother especially when René did his 'silly little dance' during one match, just for her.     "You have to tell everyone to keep an eye out for you two when Raw is broadcast back home."     "I will."     Leila knew that her time in the US would come to an end a couple of weeks after her parents left but she didn't want to dwell on that at all. She simply wanted to have a good time with René, Sylvan and her parents. And that wasn't too much to ask.     Leila's parents had told Sylvan how impressed they were with Leila for ending up with René. They truly felt she had someone special with her and also let on to Sylvan exactly what René was going to ask her later on, asking him not to tell Leila a word about it, which he promised not to do.     Two days before she was due to return to France, René sprung his surprise on Leila.     She was lying on her back on the bed, reading _The Godfather_ again when René threw his passport at her.     "Why'd you do that?"     "Have a look at it."     Leila put her book down and picked up René's passport. She smiled when she saw his photo - his one looked better than hers. At least he didn't have a horrendous hangover when he had his passport photo taken, unlike her.     "Yeah. So?"     "I need it to get entry into France, don't I?"     "Excuse me?"     "I didn't want to say anything until I had the all clear from the head cheese. I'm due for some time off so I thought I'd spend it in France with you. I've got the ticket and everything."     In due course, René placed the ticket on Leila's stomach and she picked it up, glancing at it briefly.     "I guess this means I get to show you Paris and the other side of her … the one the tourists don't see."     René smiled. He should've expected her to say something like that and sure enough, she delivered.     "But I don't plan on going to Paris as a tourist."     Leila looked from René to his plane ticket to her book before looking at René again, her thinking cap on.     "You don't plan on going to Paris as a tourist? Then what do you plan to go to Paris as?"     Now, the fun part. How to word his response.     "Well," he began, scratching his head, "I was hoping to go as your fiancé, to be honest."     He had her attention now. Leila looked stunned, literally. She definitely hadn't been expecting that.     "Oh my."     "I didn't want to say anything until it was closer to your departure. I asked your father and he said _oui_ obviously. He even told Sylvan and asked him to keep it quiet."     She hadn't moved, apart from covering her mouth with her hand. She couldn't believe what René had said. Her father, René and Sylvan were all in on it?     René took her free hand in his.     "You don't have to give your answer straight away. Just whenever you're ready. You are liking the idea though, aren't you?"     Leila nodded, a sheepish look on her face. But she knew what her answer would be and she wasn't going to give it to him just yet ...  
_Well, on with the sequel now. Hopefully, Leila's answer will be obvious to you …if it isn't, I suppose you'll have to read the sequel …  
  
I would like to thank everyone who read the story and took the time to review it - all your reviews were very much appreciated!_


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